RosarioKitsune
by Acolyte of Truth
Summary: After defeating Akatsuki, Naruto faces the greastest challenge of his life: teaching gym class at Youkai Academy. Of course, tormenting the students is just a perk that comes with the job. When conflicts arise, only one teacher can put them to rest. Of course, he starts most of them. A continution of CharkieSierra's story of a similar name. NarutoXShizukaXMizore and more!
1. Start of a New Year

Hello one and all. As you probably already know, I have recently come to acquire Charlie Sierra's story. I find it quite unfortunate that he decided to quit writing it, but hey, what can you do? So, this is my fourth story, and as of now, I still don't really know where it's headed. As such, your input is greatly appreciated, but updates will not follow any pattern. Also, the first two chapters are pretty much rewrites of Charlie's. Now, let's hope I don't totally fuck this thing up.

/////

Disclaimer: Me no own anything as of yet. Now scroll down.

/////

Konoha. A village associated with peace, serenity, and also great power. A village that had endured years upon years of conflict, both within and outside its great and majestic walls, made up of turmoil, war, and betrayal. Despite all this, the village's shinobi forces had finally managed to once again reestablish its position as number one and prove that it was still a force to be trifled with, no matter the circumstances.

Yes, it would appear to one that Konoha had reached a state of equilibrium.

Deep within the walls of the village, the sound of a fist hitting someone with great force could be heard, followed by a shout of, "Pay attention!" Yes, everything was normal.

/////

In the office of the Hokage, a bandana wearing shinobi glared up at his assailant from his position sprawled out on the floor. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black turtleneck that had an orange strip going up both arms and met in an orange swirl on his back. He also wore black, baggy pants with many pockets that had another orange stripe going up either one of his legs. Along with this attire was a pair of your average black shinobi sandals on his feet. A standard katana was strapped to his back at an angle, its handle poking over his left shoulder.

"What the hell, baa-chan?!?" screamed the shinobi indignantly, rubbing his forehead where a lump was forming, a reminder of the punch he just receive from the blonde woman in front of him. For his trouble, he got a paperweight chucked at his head, sending him to the ground once again with a newly forming bruise.

The thrower was none other than Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of the village. The woman looked down at hit in irritation, eyebrow twitching. "Did you get the message that time? Pay attention… and stop calling me baa-chan!"

The shinobi, known around the village as Naruto, sat up and nursed his wounded head. He was about to make a smart-ass comment, you could just see it on his face, and Tsunade was daring him to do it. However, as he caught sight of all the heavy objects on the desk that could still be thrown at him, he wisely closed his mouth and held his tongue.

Tsunade, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes at the fact that Naruto finally seemed to learn his lesson, sat back in her chair and gestured to the other one laying haphazardly next to the shinobi. "Please, take a seat… again."

Resistant, but not wanting to be hit again, Naruto obliged the request, though not without a little grumbling. Once he was seated, Tsunade continued from where she left off before she smacked the boy in the head. "As I was saying before you decided to let your inner dumbass take over, I have a mission for you." The rather buxom blonde reached under her desk and produced a file, which she handed to the younger blonde. "And before you start bitching, let me reminder you that this is required if you want to keep your jounin status in this village."

Naruto hastily flipped the file open to see its contents. What he found was a picture of him along with a list of his career experience below.

Uzumaki Naruto

_Age: 16_

_Height: 6'1_

_Weight: 163 lbs._

_Rank: Jounin_

_Special Attributes: Classified_

_Gennin Team: None_

_Teaching Experience: None_

The rest was pretty much useless and random shit, but he conceded, the file was him in a nutshell. Naruto looked up to meet the Hokage's calm, hazel eyes, confusion and anger shining in his own blue orbs. "What, exactly, do you mean when you say that this is required if I want to keep my status? I mean, seriously, I earned this rank. I stopped Akatsuki from taking over the world, I aided you in the war against Oto, hell, I brought that bastard Sasuke back here, and that's with only a few parts missing! I worked my ass off for this village! What the fuck else am I supposed to do?!?" Naruto was practically yelling by the end of his spiel, and had to stop to catch his breath.

For her part, Tsunade looked unfazed by his indignant speech, and seemed almost bemused, as if she was expecting this to happen. "I totally agree with you." Naruto was about to start shouting again, but was stopped as the Hokage held up a hand. "You have certainly done enough to earn your rank as a jounin, but keeping said rank is another matter entirely. You see," she paused to lean further back in her chair, folding her hands on her lap and crossing her legs, "it's a little known fact that in order to retain one's jounin status, there is a required teaching aspect in order to help the next generation along."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and plastered a quizzical look on his face. "Teaching aspect?"

"That's correct. Every jounin is required to teach at least one team of gennin. However, this option may be substituted if they so choose, and they can instead teach at the academy. You seem to be a special case, though, as you appear to have yet made any notion about thinking about the former option. And I highly doubt you would be willing to teach at the academy, given your own history there. So, that begs the question, what the hell am I supposed to do with some like you?"

Naruto began to sheepishly scratch the back of his head with a nervous grin on his face. "Well, it's just a suggestion, but maybe we could just forget about this whole teaching thing and let me continue on with my life as a jounin. Wouldn't that just save us both a lot of trouble?"

"Nice try, but no. Besides, that was a rhetorical question, as I already have something planned." She once again reached under her desk, this time pulling out a scroll which she quickly handed over to the crestfallen boy. "Since you seem to be determined to continue to be a pain in my ass by denying to teach a gennin team, and would probably break both your own legs before I shipped you off to the academy, I have decided to be merciful and instead give you a mission… one that requires you to teach if you want it completed. You wouldn't want to put your nearly perfect record in jeopardy by failing this simple mission, would you?"

Naruto blanched just at the thought of teaching a bunch of ungrateful little hellions. If the way he had acted in school was anything to go by, his life just got a whole lot more suckish. "C'mon! That's so not fair! Can't we talk about this baa-chan?!?"

He flew back into the wall, causing it to crack, eyes swirling. Tsunade pulled back her steaming fist and sat back down in her chair. "Don't interrupt and don't call me baa-chan. Now, like I was saying, you will take the mission, as it has already been assigned to you, you will complete it exactly to its parameters, and you will thank me for every single minute you are on the mission. There are no what-ifs, there will be no arguments, and this is non-negotiable. Am I understood?"

Peeling himself from the indent of him in the wall, he looked up to the stony visage of his leader, still a bit shaken from the punch. "Um, so, when do I leave?" he asked with false and shaky eagerness.

"Right now."

"Right now? B-but I still need to pack, I need to say goodbye to my friends, I need to water my plants, …"

/////

"…I need to make sure my stove is off, I need to lock my house, I need to take out the trash, …"

"Hey, you done back there? You've been talking to yourself ever since that blonde chick dropped you off nearly half an hour ago."

Naruto stopped ticking things off his 'To Do List' and looked to the unknown individual who spoke. In doing so he realized something… troubling, that being his current surroundings.

He quickly came to the conclusion that he was sitting in some cushy seat inside of a metal room with many windows and seats similar to the one he was currently using, and there was a dull rumble resounding all around him. As he looked out the window, he noticed that trees were moving past him at high speeds. As expected of someone who had never been in an automobile of any sort before, he was promptly freaked out, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. Luckily, his training had taught him to think before acting, so he quickly calmed down and assessed his situation.

He was in a narrow, long, metal room filled with these cushy seats with an empty space down the middle. There was an all-encompassing rumble and he was moving. As he further surveyed his surroundings, he found several bags he recognized as his at his feet. He also noticed the other person in the area with him. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was this man who initially broke him from his reverie.

Naruto averted his eyes to the front to see a man. He was sitting in a taller seat and had a strange wheel in front of him, along with a stick protruding from the floor that the man constantly jostled, making a loud cranking sound above the rumble. He couldn't really judge his appearance since he was facing away from him.

It was then that the unknown man decided to speak up. "Hey, you okay? You look troubled kid."

Naruto shook his, head clearing his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it." it was then that Naruto caught something the man said earlier. "Wait a minute, did you say a blonde woman dropped me off?"

Naruto could see the man incline his head slightly. "Yeah, she up to the bus with you slung over her shoulder like a bag of rocks, still talking, and dropped you off with you bags. You've been listing random things all the way."

Naruto slightly twitched as what was said finally came full circle. _'Damnit baa-chan!'_ he calmed himself as he sat back and massaged his temples. He could already feel the migraine forming from the thought of all the crap that awaited him.

The man spoke up again. "You might just want to take it easy for a while. We still got quite a drive until we get to our destination."

"And that would be…?" Naruto stopped massaging as he looked once again to the man, leaving the question hanging.

"Where do you think?" he asked without missing a beat. "Youkai Academy, of course."

/////

After some idle chitchat, Naruto had learned that the thing he was riding in was a bus. He committed the word to memory so he wouldn't forget the strange device. It was a little while later when the bus came to a stop. The driver pulled a lever to his right and the doors at the front slid open. "Well, this is where we part ways kid. Good luck, you'll need it."

Naruto gathered his belongings and got off the bus. The first thing he noticed was a scarecrow sporting a pumpkin for a head. It caused him to chuckle a bit, as it reminded him of Kakashi.

'Damn, I already wanna' go back to Konoha, if only to say goodbye to everyone. Okay, need to stop with those kinds of thoughts. I can't change anything now, so I might as well get over it.'

With that, Naruto turned to the dirt path. As he did so, he immediately blanched. Of course he had to go through the creepy dead woods to reach his destination. Crap. With a sigh of frustration, the blonde was on his way.

/////

"Don't tell me I'm lost in the woods. For the love of Kami, don't say I got lost in the damn woods," said Naruto to himself. He had been fine at first, following the path exactly. Of course, it was then that fate had to be a bitch and decide to make the path fork. Ever since that had happened, Naruto had felt he was walking in circles.

As he took another step, he heard a crunch. He looked down to see the fragments of a skull under his foot. A human skull. Now that he looked around, the ground was covered in skulls and tombstones were visible just off the side of the path. Really, could this path get any more fucked up? Of course, the sounds that kept going off in the trees, as if something was watching him, did nothing to quell his growing anxiety levels.

"Yeah, I'm lost. I am so screwed." Regardless, Naruto carried on, not wanting to think what would happen if he stayed in one place for to long, or if he wandered from the path. However, as he walked, the more impatient he got, as his anxiety turned to anger. "Damnit! Where the hell is this frickin' school anyway!"

"Umm, are you okay? You don't seem to well."

Naruto turned his attention away from the sky, or, rather, the thick canopy of dead tree branches, he was yelling at to see who had spoken to him. What he saw made him blush slightly. He was face to face with the cutest woman he had ever laid his eyes on. She had neck length blonde-hair with two tufts sticking out from either side, vaguely resembling a pair of cat ears. Her eyes were squinty, almost as if they were closed, but she didn't seem to have any trouble seeing. She also had on a pair of reading glasses, along with a skirt that ended a little above the knee, and an orange shirt with a small white, jacket over it.

Naruto blushed a bit more when he realized that he was checking her out, and even more so when she put one of her smooth, delicate hands to his forehead. "Hmm, do you have a fever? Maybe I should let the nurse check you out."

Naruto quickly put his hands up and shook his head. "N-no, I'm fine. But maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a place called Youkai Academy. Am I anywhere close to it, by chance?" the woman tilted her head to the side in a confused manner for a moment, and then began to giggle with a slight grin on her face. "What's so funny?" asked Naruto, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You are," was her reply. She then pointed behind her. Naruto followed her hand to see that she was pointing at a large, iron gate. On it, the name 'Youkai Academy' was emblazoned on a sign just above the gate. Naruto just blushed in embarrassment, wondering how the hell he had missed that.

"Wow, wish I had noticed that sooner," he said, still rubbing his neck. The woman just giggled some more.

"You're a strange one. What are you doing here, anyway? The school year doesn't start for two weeks."

"Oh." Naruto began to look through all of his pockets, until he finally produced a few papers. "I'm here to fill in the teaching position. I'm the new Physical Education teacher."

The woman smiled even bigger and wrapped him in a tight hug with strength that probably wasn't possible for a woman of her size. "Oh! So you're Kotsubo-san's replacement? How nice of you to come!"

"Can't… b-breathe… lungs… burn… g-gonna'… p-pass… out…" the woman finally noticed that Naruto had turned a deep shade of purple. She quickly let go as he took in deep gulps of air. He rose from his hands and knees and gave a quick, "Thank you," as he looked to her once again.

She chuckled a bit and now it was her turn to scratch the back of her head. "Sorry… um…" Naruto quickly realized she was looking for a name.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he filled in. "Don't mention it… uhh…"

"Nekonome Shizuka. It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-chan!" Shizuka said as she eagerly shook his hand. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you around." And with that, she walked through the gates to the academy. Naruto grumbled a bit at being called 'Naruto-chan' but flowed nonetheless.

/////

Both blondes were walking through the seemingly abandoned halls of Youkai Academy, chatting animatedly. "So, what's with the creepy-ass woods around here? Last time I checked, that wasn't exactly good for morale," asked Naruto.

"Well, this school has to be hidden like this, so no one just wanders in here. Because, really, what sane person would walk into a place like this? The barrier around the school offers extra protection so a human doesn't end up in the middle of a bunch of youkai." Naruto was wondering what she meant by barrier and why she referred to people as plain humans. It all seemed to click in his head when she said that this place was full of youkai. Of course, given the name, it probably should have been obvious.

"So, what do you do if you find a human?" asked Naruto, a bit nervous and sweating.

"Oh, we eliminate them. They can't leave with the secret of this place after all," she said nonchalantly. "Of course, people would probably think that the person is crazy, but we can't risk it."

In his head, Naruto was running through escape plans so he could leave at a moments notice. His companion seemed to notice his discomfort and put him at ease.

"Don't worry. Shinobi aren't seen as true humans. They're more like witches, being boundary beings."

"How did you now I was a shinobi?"

"We were all informed that you would be one. I myself am a Neko youkai."

"I see." It was at that point that he finally noticed the tail swishing behind her. He was memorized by it, but snapped out of it, since she might think he was starring at something else if she caught him. However, it was hard to ignore. More talking would help him, he decided. "Hey, Nekonome-san…"

"Please, call me Shizuka. There's no need to be so formal, considering we are equals now," she interrupted. Naruto just blinked a bit before grinning.

"Okay, Shizuka-chan. I was just wondering, what happened to this Kotsubo-san?"

Shizuka suddenly stopped walking and Naruto idly wondered if he had said something wrong. However, his fears were put to rest when, instead of an angry of sad look on her face, there was one of awkwardness. She scratched her cheek and said, "Well, let's just say that Kotsubo-san had some… vices that weren't entirely legal."

/////

"C'mon, I swear there was no ulterior motive! I just asked her over for a simple cup of coffee!"

"First off, what ten-year-old do you know that drinks coffee, honestly?"

"Umm… this one?"

"Riiiight, and that's why we found a box of condoms, a bunch of roofies, and several magazines filled with young girls in suggestive positions signed by some… 'Pedobear' in this bag of yours."

There was silence.

"That's what I thought."

/////

Naruto sweat dropped and decided that it was probably better not to ask. So, the two considered in relative quiet, the only sound being that of their footsteps. Finally, they arrived at their destination, a door marked 'Headmaster'. Shizuka turned to him and said a few parting words. "Now remember, Naruto-chan, be respectful at all times and always refer to him as Headmaster."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So, will I be seeing you around?"

Shizuka giggled and pinched his cheek, much to his embarrassment. "Of course you will, Naruto-chan! We are fellow teachers, after all!" and with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, tail swishing behind her.

Despite himself, Naruto smiled a wide smile. He was already starting to like this place, just because of her.

However, remembering the task he was now faced with, he turned serious. He turned around and silently and respectfully opened the door.

The moment he entered the dark room, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of power and authority. To him, it was quite obvious that the Headmaster wasn't someone he wanted to fuck with. So, all business, he stood in front of the desk that was in the back of the room and eyed the individual behind it, waiting to be acknowledged.

The man seemed to resemble a priest of high standing. However, the slightly sinister feel in the air quickly cast that thought from Naruto's head. As he looked again, he noticed the grand rosary around his neck. He knew this was serious, and that it wasn't a time to mess around.

After a few more seconds of silence, the Headmaster spoke. "Welcome to Youkai Academy, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto gave a deep bow as he responded. "Thank you, Headmaster." Naruto wondered how this man knew his name, but, really, that didn't matter at the moment. He instead waited for the Headmaster to continue.

There was a quiet chuckle. "Please, Uzumaki-san, no need to be so respectful. As for how I know your name, I'm the one who requested the mission."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up above his hairline in surprise. "How did you know I wanted to ask that?"

The Headmaster just chuckled and continued. "As I'm sure your fully aware, you are here as the new P.E. teacher until we can find another suitable replacement. Hopefully you don't posses the same vices as Kotsubo-san had. A warning glance caused Naruto to straighten his posture and remind himself not to screw this up. Maybe the fact the Headmaster's eyes were glowing white was the cause of this.

The Headmaster leaned back into his chair as his eyes were once again covered in the shadow of his hood. "Well, I don't believe that there is anything else we need to speak about. You are free to do whatever you wish for the next two weeks. Explore the campus, relax in the teacher's lounge, what ever you wish. Good luck, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto nodded and gave a bow before he exited the room. The moment he was out of the Headmaster's gaze, he slouched and let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Wiping his forehead of sweat that may have collected there, Naruto decided that his time here was going to be interesting

/////

And there you go. I wanted to get this out sooner, but for some reason, my computer won't let me just copy documents. I'll get it checked out eventually, but not now.

So yeah, I started writing this about a month ago, but somehow got sidetracked. I should get the second chapter out soon, but not now. I'm still not far enough to know how I'll do on this, so wish me luck in the future. This chapter was 3,937 words long.


	2. He's a Teacher

Hey, this chapter's out a bit later than anticipated, but oh well. At least it's here now. Yeah, not much else to say here. Moving on…

/////

Disclaimer: I don't have the resources or the time to own the actual series. However, if you want to give me some money to help finance my takeover of said series, I'd only be all too glad to accept you're donation

/////

Naruto sighed as he walked through the dark, creepy forest that surrounded Youkai Academy. At first, he didn't want to even look at the forest, but he grew curious and decided to take a walk through it. It was surprisingly relaxing if you ignored the crows, dead trees, and occasional lightning strikes.

He looked up at the sky and sighed. The two weeks had finally passed, and the school year had begun. He looked forward again and kept walking.

He was supposed to be at the Academy, guiding students to the auditorium. But he really never cared for orders that much, and he didn't really feel like associating with a bunch of brats, disregarding the fact that some of the students were older than him. Instead, he decided to take a walk in his new favorite place.

A crack of a twig and panicked breathing snapped back into reality. He looked to his left and saw a boy walking rather fast towards the Academy. Judging by the uniform, he was a student. He also seemed rather panicky.

A smirk worked its way to Naruto's face. Time to have some fun.

/////

Aono Tsukune was currently panicking at the moment. Why, you may ask. Well, first he was dropped off outside a creepy forest by an even creepier bus driver, then he apparently had to walk through said forest, and now he was being plagued by an eerie squeaking noise that kept getting louder.

You could say Tsukune was not having a good day so far.

Suddenly the squeaking noise stopped, leaving Tsukune to stand there, confused. He stood there for a good 2 minutes before breathing a sigh of relief. He turned forward to keep walking, but he was met with the face of a blond stranger.

"Yo."

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Tsukune fell onto his rear and backed up several paces while stuttering, "Y-y-y-you…!".

Naruto smirked and supplied, "Scared you?"

His response was a loud, "Yes!" The blonde guy walked up to him with a grin on his face and lifted Tsukune up onto his feet. He then turned and started walking away. But he was stopped by Tsukune's shout, "Wait! You scare the daylights out of me and then you walk away? Who are you?"

The blonde stopped walking and turned around, smiling sheepishly, "Oh, right, my name's Naruto, you can just call me Uzumaki-sensei."

Tsukune raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why would I call you 'Uzumaki-sensei'?"

His answer was accompanied with a fist to the top of his head, "Baka! Think about it! We're only yards away from an Academy after all!"

Tsukune rubbed the top of his head and glared at Naruto, "Did you have to hit me?"

Bam!

Tsukune was lying on the ground holding his head at this point, "What was that for!"

Naruto shrugged, "I dunno. Now come on, your gonna be late if you don't hurry up." He turned around and was about to walk up the trail before he stopped cold.

Tsukune, who had gotten up, looked at Naruto questioningly and asked, "What is it?" But he suddenly froze up when he heard the squeaking the noise that plagued him before. He barely had time to turn before a figure on a bike crashed through the trees on his right and was on a crash course with his body. He shut his eyes, grit his teeth, and waited for the painful impact of a bike.

The painful impact came...

...But, it wasn't from a bike.

/////

Naruto thoroughly enjoyed chaos. Not the evil, deaths-will-be-caused kind of chaos; more like the mischievous, prankster chaos.

Having a love for this kind of chaos gave him a sixth sense of sorts, barring that of his ninja senses. He could almost feel when something chaotic was about to happen.

So, naturally, when he felt the same spine-tingling sense that indicated chaos, he stopped and a contemplative look came to his face. He heard the kid behind him, Tsukune, ask, "What is it?", before a bike-riding figure crashed through the foliage. He acted quick and blurred in front of Tsukune, grabbing the bike by the front and effectively stopping it's path towards the soon-to-be student.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the rider, who flew off their bike and crashed cranium first into Tsukune's face.

Naruto winced; that had to hurt.

He set the bike down and walked up to the tangle of limbs that was Tsukune and the mysterious rider. Without a moment's hesitation, he picked up a long stick and poked, what looked like, Tsukune's back. Hard.

"ITAI!"

Yep, it was Tsukune.

Said boy was rubbing his back and glaring up at the blonde, "Why do insist on hurting me?" To which Naruto an all too cheerful response.

"It's fun, now hurry up and get yourself, and that lovely young girl, up so we can get to the Academy. You don't wanna be late on your first day."

The brunette looked at the blonde teacher quizzically, while trying to get up, and asked, "What girl?" His question was soon answered when his hand landed on an incredibly soft surface and a distinctly feminine gasp came from the person that crashed into him.

He turned to said person and promptly froze. It was now obvious that the rider was a girl, but she was...enchanting. She had long, pink hair and was wearing the same, green uniform he was, only with a skirt. She had a perfect hourglass figure with a breast size to compliment it. He couldn't even choke out an apology. Luckily, she decided to do that for him.

"Gomenasai. I'm anemic, you see, and I got a little dizzy and couldn't see where I was going."

She opened her eyes and Tsukune could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were the most shining pair of emeralds he had ever seen. The shock of seeing such a beautiful girl made his arm go slack and his hand to slide further down the soft object he used to keep him up.

The girl gasped again and put her hands between her legs, covering her exposed panties and showing Tsukune just where his hand was placed. It was in between her thighs.

Tsukune jumped back and waved his arm furiously, "G-Gomenasai! That was a mistake, I swear!". He stopped freaking out when he felt himself have a nosebleed. The girl also noticed the blood and gasped a third time.

"Oh no, you're bleeding!". She pulled out a handkerchief and reached forward. Just as she was about to wipe it away, she stopped short and a blush appeared across her face.

"This scent...", she said quietly. She slowly leaned forward while saying, "My body is...this scent..."

Tsukune blinked rapidly, _'Scent?'_ He leaned his head down slightly and sniffed her hair, _'Wow, she smells heavenly.'_

He was thrown out of his thoughts when she grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this, because.... I'm a vampire."

His mind was thrown into confusion, _'Vampire?'_, he thought before he felt her place her lips on his neck...and then her teeth in his neck.

Naruto, standing a little ways away from the scene, just chuckled and shook his head, _'Young love.'_ He walked away, ignoring Tsukune's look of pain and pleading.

/////

Later, in Shizuka's classroom, Tsukune was cowering at his desk. He was trying to process what his eccentric teacher had just said_. 'School for monsters? S-she can't be serious! But, Moka DID say she was a vampire...no! Maybe this is just some weird cosplay school!... Yeah...normally dressed cosplayers...that's it...'_

Even Tsukune couldn't hold true to this excuse.

His resolve was nearly shattered when he heard the large, buff boy next to him spoke, "Why don't we just eat the humans and molest the beautiful girls?"

Shizuka looked down at the seating chart and was about to say something before another voice interrupted her, "Because, boy, that's a violation of conduct...and I wouldn't hesitate to enforce those conducts." Everyone in the room, including Tsukune, looked towards the source of the voice, which happened to be from the windows. Tsukune blanched.

There, standing on the windowsill, smiling ever so carelessly, was none other than the blonde guy he met in the woods.

Naruto jumped down from his perch and walked over to the buff monster next to Tsukune and put his hand on his shoulder. "What's your name?" he asked coldly, the smile never leaving his face.

The monster looked at him and scoffed. "Why would I tell you?"

Crack

The monster gritted his teeth and held his hand on top of Naruto's, who had apparently snapped his clavicle with his firm grip.

Naruto looked down at the squirming monster, still smiling, and asked, "Because I'm a sensei." Just as he started putting pressure on his shoulder blade, he was whacked over the head with a yardstick.

"Itai!" Naruto exclaimed, holding his head in pain. He looked up at the smiling culprit.

"Shizuka-chaaaaan~," he whined, "Did you have to do that?"

"Well, you interrupted my class.... oh yeah, and you broke one of my student's bones," she responded. She then made a shooing motion with her hand, saying, "Go on now, you've caused enough trouble."

Naruto shot a glance at the troublemaker student before walking towards that window and jumping out.

The class held silent for a few minutes, as if he it was some sort of a joke and the punch line was about to be said. Then the door opened...

/////

Naruto laid his head on his desk, bored. Being a P.E. teacher, he didn't have a homeroom class, so he would have to wait until tomorrow to do...well, anything.

So he could be bored the entire day.

He could be…

He looked out the window at all the students walking around, chatting and making friends.

Or...he could go out and mingle with his peers.

...That sounded like a good idea.

/////

Tsukune honestly didn't know how he got in these situations. In a matter of 4 hours, he met an eccentric teacher who was the same age as he was, found out his simple presence at this school was enough to kill him, made friends with a beautiful Vampire girl, and now he was being threatened by a hulk of a boy over said Vampire girl.

He honestly didn't know how these things happened.

"So, Moka, how's about you ditch this loser and come have some fun with me?" Saizou said, his left arm in a sling.

"No, thank you, I'm having fun with Tsukune-kun, right now," was Moka's response.

Saizou snorted and spoke, his voice filled with arrogance, "With this weakling? Heh, you could do much better than him. You could be with someone like me."

"I highly doubt anyone would want to even be friends with you," a voice behind Saizou announced.

All three students looked in the direction of the voice. Standing there, with the same carefree smile as in the classroom, was Naruto.

Saizou grunted, "You, the one who likes to pretend he's a sensei. HA! As if a little punk like you could be my sensei. I think I better teach you a lesson." He reared his arm back to throw Tsukune, but mid-throw, his arm stopped dead. Saizou looked at his arm and his eyes widened.

There was Naruto, standing in the path of arm, holding it with a hand. Naruto waved his finger in a 'no-no' fashion, "Now, now, Baka-chan, it's really rude to throw people. So why don't you let go?" At the same time he emphasized the word 'go', he squeezed Saizou's arm, which gave an audible crack as it snapped.

Saizou yowled in pain, relinquishing his grip on Tsukune, who scurried over to Moka.

Naruto let go, still wearing that smile, "Have you learned your lesson, Baka-chan?"

In response, Saizou roared as he swung his broken arm at Naruto. Naruto simply bent back on his knees, dodging the arm. Seemingly defying the laws of physics, he swung his legs up and connected his right foot with enraged boy's jaw, sending him sprawling on his back.

With the grace only a shinobi possessed, he flipped all the way over and landed on his feet, not a single hair out of place. He leaned over, with that same cheeky smile on his face, "Now have you learned your lesson?"

Saizou slowly got back up and glared at Naruto; his left arm in a sling and his right arm hanging useless. "You'll regret this."

Rip

Saizou looked down at the small pink slip that was held out to him and asked, "What's this?"

"Detention," was the only reply he got

"...What?"

"Detention," he repeated

"...You're kidding..."

"Nope. Detention. My office. 7-o-clock."

"...."

Saizou slowly reached out and grabbed the slip, confusion plastered all over his face. This little pip-squeak actually was a teacher? No. Fucking. Way.

"Now, run off to the nurse's, Baka-chan."

Saizou slowly turned away, and walked off towards the nurse's office, his mind still not comprehending what just happened.

When he left, Naruto turned around to the astonished pair on the ground behind him.

"So, who wants a drink? It's on me."

Moka and Tsukune could only gape at him in astonishment.

/////

There you have it. After this chapter, everything will be original content. If you have any ideas or suggestions, remember to tell them to me so I might be able to incorporate them into the story.

On that note, there is a poll on my profile regarding the pairing. Go check it out. This chapter was 2,343 words long.


	3. Corporal Punishment

Well, here ya go, my first original work in this series. I hope you enjoy it. Also, this chapter was beta'd courtesy of Lykaos.

/

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything of great value. Moving on.

/

Chapter 3: Corporal Punishment is the Lifeline of the Educational System

Also known as: I Couldn't Think of a Better Title

The sun currently hung low in the sky at Youkai Academy, hovering above the tree line rather stubbornly. To most, it would have seemed to be late in the afternoon, though Naruto knew that it was well past seven. As if to reassure himself, the blonde sent a cursory glance to the clock hanging off the wall in his office. Yep, seven-eighteen. With an aggravated sigh, Naruto redirected his eyes to the only door to the, admittedly, cramped office.

It was a fifteen-by-twenty rectangular room on the edge of the domestic campus grounds, yet still near the fields provided for gym class. It was fitted with a desk for himself and several desks for students who got the punishment of serving detention with him. As stated previously, it had a clock on the wall. A chalkboard was located behind him for some inconceivable reason that Naruto could only imagine. The walls were stark of any decoration, so the blonde occupied his time by glancing out the rather large, single-pane window to his left which showed a beautiful vista of the academy grounds… well, as beautiful as a forest of dead trees can be, at least.

With another sigh, Naruto looked back at the clock. Seven-twenty-five. "I swear, if that dumbass doesn't get his ass through that door in the next five minutes, I'm gonna' make sure he's stuck in the infirmary for the next week. Then, he's stuck with three more detentions," the blonde said to himself.

With nothing better to do, our shinobi sensei leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. Might as well get a bit of relaxation before he had to track down his wayward student. In all actuality, the only reason that he had waited as long as he did was because he knew that the kid was at least slightly intimidated by him. That, and he knew that the kid had a pretty good idea of what would happen if he didn't show up.

Naruto was suddenly broken from his thoughts as a knock sounded at the door. The blonde idly glanced one last time at the clock. Seven-twenty-nine. Saizou was a lucky bastard. "About damn time," he mumbled under his breath. Then, a little louder so Saizou could hear. "Get your ass in here!" after a bit of obvious fumbling from the other side, the door was hurriedly opened and in walked Saizou.

The monster now had both of his arms in slings. Naruto also noticed that, with a bit of satisfaction, a rather large bruise was forming on Saizou's jaw. The blonde chuckled a bit as he set his chair into its original position and sat foreword, receiving a humiliated glare from the larger boy. Naruto ignored him as he watched the boy slide into a seat near the window.

"So, Baka-chan, what took you so long? I'm pretty sure I told you to be here at seven," Naruto said, the grin on his face so large that it caused his eyes to close to make room for it. He received a growl for an answer.

"I ain't got nothing to say to ya!" the statement caused Naruto to have a slight, almost unnoticeable twitch of the eye. That wasn't the answer he was expecting, and it wasn't something he was going to settle for. Before Saizou fully understood what was happening, Naruto was right beside his seat, his grin a bit small, allowing him to open his eyes a small amount.

"I'm sorry, what was that? And before you answer this time, ask yourself if you _really_ want to push it." Saizou saw the gleam in the blonde's eyes, something that caused the boy to become rather uncomfortable, very fast. Naruto took pleasure in watching the student squirm.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Saizou revised his answer. "I-I was busy."

"Dooooing…?" Naruto left the question hanging.

Saizou began to sweat under the scrutiny of Naruto's gaze as the sensei set his hands on the boy's desk, the student struggling to think of an answer. "Ugh… well… I was doing… homework!" the boy suddenly exclaimed.

"Homework, you say?" asked Naruto, never taking his speculative eyes off the boy. Saizou quickly nodded.

"Yeah! I was busy doing homework so I could get it done with before coming here. I guess I lost track of time."

"Riiiiiiiight." The day Naruto believed that this kid willingly did his homework was the day that Jiraiya swore off porn and Tsunade swore off booze. It didn't fucking happen! Regardless, Naruto just shook his head and began to walk back to his desk, hands folded behind his back. He made a 'tsk'ing noise as he spoke. "Baka-chan, Baka-chan, Baka-chan, I thought that you would at least put some effort into that answer. First off, do you really expect me to believe that any teacher, no matter how sadistic, would give homework on the first day of school? Secondly, you can't even barely make a fist with your hands, let alone write anything. You really thought that I would believe that for a second?"

Saizou just stared at him blankly.

"Exactly. Now, frankly, I don't really care what you were doing anymore, but if I found out you were harassing those kids again, you're gonna' wish that I had broken every bone in your body before you could do anything." As soon as Naruto said that, Saizou's eyes widened. But, it wasn't for the reason Naruto thought.

Instead, Naruto had reminded him of the pretty pink-haired girl. The one who insisted on hanging around that weak kid? The one he swore he would make his. He needed to leave, he realized, completely forgetting what had been said to him not ten seconds ago. "Hey, I gotta' take a piss."

Naruto just stared, startled by the abruptness of the statement. "What?"

"I said I gotta' take a piss. Can I go to the bathroom?"

Naruto just stared, before twitching. Did this guy think he was stupid or something? Naruto just let out a quiet growl at this kid's audacity. "No."

"Wh-what?" Saizou asked, surprised.

"I said no."

Now, it was Saizou's turn to get angered. "Hey, c'mon! I'll piss on the floor if I have to!"

Naruto just propped his head up on his arm, leaning against the desk. "Like I care. I don't have to clean it up," was the rather bored answer from the blonde.

"C'mon!"

Now, Naruto adopted a thoughtful pose, causing Saizou to become slightly hopeful. "Well, when you put it that wa- NO!" with that, Naruto chucked a plastic bottle at his student's head, which he had pulled from his desk. The bottle hit Saizou square in the nose before landing on the desk. The boy just stared at it, before looking up to Naruto.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?" he asked incredulously. Naruto just pointed to the far side of the room.

"Go in the corner and make sure to get it in the bottle." There was silence as Saizou just stared, speechless. He was getting desperate, and really wanted to leave. Now. He looked around before coming up with a plan.

"Well, the thing is- HOLY SHIT WHAT'S THAT?" the boy shouted, indicating behind Naruto.

The blonde quickly spun around, before hearing a crash and the sound of someone screaming. Slowly tuning around, Naruto saw an empty classroom and a broken window. He twitched. "He used the worst technique in history…" his jaw clenched as his hands turned into white knuckled fists, "and I fell for it." Naruto was only able to derive a miniscule amount of joy from the fact that the window Saizou jumped out of overlooked a very steep hill covered in protruding stones. With a sigh, Naruto went after the kid.

/

Naruto jumped through the trees at an idle pace, not in any real rush to catch up to Saizou. And really, what reason did he have to be? The kid could barley use his arms and probably not fairing to well after jumping out the window. That didn't mean that the blonde was underestimating the boy; he couldn't afford to underestimate anyone in his line of work, considering lives were constantly on the line. Add the fact that the kid was a literal monster, and no doubt had a shitload of tricks up his sleeve, and Naruto wasn't going to let his eyes off him when he did catch up.

When the blonde heard a frightened scream, he decided to speed up just a bit. He wasn't about to let someone get injured just for the simple fact that he insisted on being lazy. Hell, even Kakashi, one of the laziest people he knew, didn't do that when he could help it.

A few seconds later, Naruto saw a break in the tree line up ahead. With a burst of speed, our blonde hero broke through into the clearing. Stopping on a tree branch, he watched the conflict below unfold.

The first thing he noticed was Saizou. One of the boy's arms had fallen out of its sling and dangled by his side. His uniform was covered in dirt and had various rips and tears in it. The blonde also noticed that he was favoring one leg over the other.

Letting his blue eyes drift over the field, Naruto noticed Tsukune and Moka on the other end. The brown-haired boy was putting himself in between the pink-haired girl and Saizou. Naruto shook his head at the sight and just decided to see where this was going. He would step in if the situation got out of hand.

Meanwhile, Saizou stepped forward menacingly, causing the other two to take an involuntary step backwards. The boy gave a weary chuckle at their reaction. Suddenly finding his throat extremely dry, Tsukune took a deep swallow of saliva before attempting to speak.

"Do we really need to do this, Saizou? I mean, can't we just let bygones be bygones and move on. Come on, you look injured, maybe we can take you to the infir-…"

"Shut up!" Tsukune quickly shut his mouth at Saizou's shout, thinking it was better to just listen to the boy. Pleased by the brunette's reaction, he decided to continue. "Now, if you're so scared, I might be willing to let you leave. However, you have to give me and Moka-chan here a little alone time." There was a sick grin on the boy's face as he said that, causing Tsukune and Moka to give horrified expressions and once again back up further.

Naruto's anger increased as he sat in his tree, still unnoticed by everyone else. He knew the implications of what Saizou was saying, and was beginning to regret not taking the boys mobility away with a quick kick to the knees when he had the chance earlier. Before he could act, his attention was caught by what Tsukune said next.

"I'm not leaving Moka-san here with someone like you! I'd rather die than let you have your way with her!" Naruto looked at the kid, a newfound respect welling within him at what was just said. He noticed Moka had tears in her eyes, her shocked expression turning into a smile for the boy.

"Tsukune," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "go. Please, I'll be fine, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"But Moka-…"

"No Tsukune, please. You're the only one who has chosen to be my friend, the only one who chooses to see me for who I really am. If worst comes to worst I'll survive, but I don't think I could bear to see you get hurt. So just go." Tears were rolling down the pink-haired girl's cheeks at the end of her little speech, leaving Tsukune speechless. Not so much Saizou.

The larger boy just snorted. "That's very touching, but I'm tired of waiting. You had your chance to leave, but now we have to do this the hard way. Just remember that you brought this on yourselves!" with that, the boy was off at speeds that he shouldn't have possessed in his current state. Fearing for his friend, Tsukune quickly rounded around, grabbing Moka by the shoulders and putting himself further in dangers way.

"Go! Quick!" all the while, Tsukune closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. However, all he got was a cry of startled pain that he knew wasn't his or Moka's. Turning around to see what was going on, the boy felt his eyes widen at the sight.

A familiar blonde head was facing away from them, holding onto the arm Saizou had out of the sling and had directed at them in a punch. The blonde just looked at Saizou, his eyes boring into the boy's own frightened ones, his face the epitome of seriousness. He just idly shook his head.

"You really don't learn, do you, Baka-chan?" his question was met with silence. "What do you think happens to students who not only leave my detention to go harass other students, but break a window in the process of escape, huh?"

The blonde sent a quick blow into Saizou's stomach, knocking all the air out of the boy's lungs and causing him to double over in pain. Naruto didn't let him fall completely, though. Instead, he moved right begin the boy as he landed on his knees, arm still in hand, the one he had broken earlier.

He then planted his foot into the boy's back as he grabbed Saizou's broken shoulder. He flinched at all of the movement going on, even more so when the blonde decided to speak. "I'm the one who has to pay for that window, you inconsiderate fuck-off." Naruto began to push his leg foreword, causing bones to creak and Saizou to yell. "Then to top this whole situation off, you imply that you're going to rape this young girl here and threaten to kill her friend if he gets in the way. Pieces of shit like you make me sick." With a bit more pressure, there was a wet crunching sound as Naruto effectively dislocated Saizou's arm. To top it off, Naruto brought his other foot up, using the one on Saizou's back as leverage, and brought it down on his elbow in an axe kick.

The sound of dry twigs snapping accompanied Saizou's scream as Naruto released the now useless arm. He kicked the boy forward and let him fall on his face. With that, he crouched down near Saizou's head and whispered in his ear.

"Consider this corporal punishment. If your transgressions continue, I may have to break your legs and tear them off. Now, if anyone asks, your injuries were caused by you jumping out the window. Go to sleep now." With a quick tap to a pressure point in the boy's neck, he was out before he could protest.

Standing up, the blonde formed a quick hand seal. With a poof of white some, an exact copy of Naruto stood there. It saluted the original as it spoke. "Sir?"

"Take Baka-chan here to the infirmary. He had a little fall when he tried to escape detention in favor of continually harassing students."

The copy nodded as it picked up the unconscious boy with seemingly little effort. "Will do, sir." With that, he was off into the night. With a sigh, the original turned back to Tsukune and Moka. They jumped as they saw a smile on his face, as if the last few minutes didn't just happen.

"So, who's up for that drink I mentioned earlier?" the other two just sweat dropped. Tsukune had one last idle thought before he followed the blonde teacher.

'This guy's defiantly bipolar or something. Did I really make the right choice coming back?'

/

And there you have it. Next time, Naruto's first day of classes, where he meets another future love interest. Hooray. Time to develop relationships. Till next time, Acolyte out.


	4. Life Lessons with Naruto

Hiya guys, it's been a while, eh? Bet you thought I forgot about you. Well, the truth is, kinda did forget, but hey, no one's perfect. So, yeah, I'm sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long, but I promise that I'll try to make sure I never leave you guys for this long again... or at least until you forget about this. If you want a reason for the delay, I'm sad to say there really wasn't one. I could say that I was swamped with summer work, but in truth, even though I'm not actually finished with it, it would only take me five days to go through the whole thing. But, in all fairness, if memory serves correctly, Charlie also left you with long waits and only produced two chapters. Okay, enough with the blame game, let's just get this started.

/

Disclaimer: I own nothing, be it an anime, manga, or movie, that gains me any profit. Then again, I do own multiple shares of various successful franchises that gain me something, and I'm considering starting a small eat-out place with that money, but that probably won't be for a while. I still have three years of high-school left.

/

Chapter 4: Life Lessons with Naruto

It was a rather peaceful day at Youkai Academy as Nekonome Shizuka taught her class. As it was still rather early in the morning, the birds were still singing to wake other animals on the school grounds. The noise caused Shizuka to look out the window occasionally, longing in her eyes. What she would have done if she could just go outside, chase some birds and catch some fish, then just laze about in the sun. unfortunately, the woman had a class to teach, and she had to make sure that her students didn't catch her daydreaming and think that they could take advantage of her distracted state.

Every now and then, Shizuka would look at the door to her classroom, hoping that a certain blonde gym teacher would come in and brighten up her day. Turning to the door again, she drooped a bit and let out a silent sigh. She couldn't keep acting like this, it wasn't professional. She had a lesson to teach about human etiquette, she couldn't keep letting her mind drift.

As she began talking again, she was suddenly startled by a tapping on her window. Everyone turned to see a familiar blonde come crawling in through the window into the room, a smile on his face. It looks like one of Shizuka's wishes had come true, but, still, she was a bit surprised by the young teacher's sudden appearance. Naruto seemed to pay no mind to that and instead waved to her. "Hey, Shizuka-chan, how's it going?"

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" the cat woman asked, confused by his appearance. Sure, she was appreciative of it, but it still didn't explain anything. At seeing the blonde's confused look, Shizuka decided to clarify. "I mean, don't you have a class to teach?"

understanding came to Naruto's bewhiskered face as his smile returned and he shook his head. "No, not until next period. Apparently these wimps can't handle good ol' fashioned hard work this early in the morning. You bunch of pansies." Naruto received some glares and mumbles from the class, causing his grin to grow.

However, his smile quickly vanished as the hard wood of a ruler impacted the top of his skull. The blonde shouted in pain and quickly turned around to look at his abuser, tears of pain in his eyes. Shizuka just crossed her arms, ruler in hand, as she fixed her co-worker with a disapproving look. "Please refrain from insulting my students, Naruto-kun. Now, mind telling me why you're here?" Shizuka may have liked the blonde, and knew that he was just fooling around, but she wouldn't tolerate disrespect from anyone.

Naruto, meanwhile, adopted a thoughtful look, as if he forgot why he was there in the first place. Finally, he just shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to stop by and see how you where doing. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"I guess not, but if that's all, could you please leave? I still have a class to teach."

Naruto flashed another smile before heading towards the window. "Sure thing, Shizuka-chan!" with that, the blonde started to leave and Shizuka turned back to her class. However, she turned back when Naruto called back to her halfway out the window. "Oh, wait, I remembered what I wanted to ask you!" Naruto began to rub the back of his head in embarrassment. "Shizuka-chan, would you like to get lunch with me later today?"

Shizuka blushed at the question. By now, both teachers had forgotten about the students in the room who were watching everything unfold before them. "S-sure, that sounds nice. We can talk more later, though." In his head, Naruto gave a mental cheer.

"Great! I'll see ya' then!" And with that, Naruto vanished out the window. Now left alone with her class and in a better mood than before, Shizuka turned to everyone to see a bunch of them smiling or grinning. She chose to ignore them, though, in favor of continuing her lesson. Secretly, she couldn't wait for her lunch break, but she wouldn't let her students know that. But it was plain to them that their teacher was now in a good mood, and that made many of them happy for her.

/

After that little interaction, Naruto had gone back to the gym to prepare for his first class. Making sure everything was in place, the blond turned towards the door and folded his hands behind his back, putting up his best serious face. After that he did the hard part. He waited.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait for too long, as the tone soon sounded. Slowly, students started to file in through the doors, talking amongst themselves and generally just ignoring Naruto, which only served to piss the blonde off a bit. As soon as he was sure everyone that was coming was in the large room, the blonde brought his shiny new whistle up to his lips and blew.

The noise cut through all conversation, drawing all attention onto the child teacher. Even as he stopped blowing, the sound echoed around the room. Seeing his students were now listening, Naruto started his speech. "Glad to see you all made it today. You can call me Naruto-sensei, and from this point forwards, I will be your gym teacher."

A bunch of students were giving the blonde a skeptical look, but Naruto didn't seem to take notice. Instead, the blonde turned around to the cart behind him to retrieve something. When he turned back to his students, they saw that he was holding a red ball in his hands.

"This," Naruto continued, using his best authoritative tone, "Is a _dodgeball,_" Naruto used air-quotes as he identified the ball, hoping to better get a point across. "This destructive orb of dynamic gratuitous elimination, is more than a simple ball. You see," at this point, the blonde began to pace back and forth, ball still in hand, "life is conflict. Life is struggling through the pain and loss to achieve a goal. Life is knowing how to work together to defeat a common enemy and rise to glory. For the next two weeks, this dodgeball will. be. your. life. Now, are there any questions?"

Almost hesitantly, one brave student raised his hand and asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Uh, yeah, are you serious? I mean, there are kids here older than you, what makes you think that you can just act like a teacher?"

A small tick mark appeared on Naruto's forehead, but, other than that, there was no sign that he had actually heard the student. "Right then," with that, Naruto pulled something out from behind his back and showed it to the class, knowing that this question would come up. "This is not a dodgeball. This is a wrench. However," at this point, Naruto let loose and threw the metal object at the student who asked him the question, knocking him out and sending a spray of blood flying, causing those near him to back away. Naruto allowed a small smile to come to his face before continuing, "The same rules still apply. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. But that's not the point. I won't tolerate having my authority questioned. My position as a teacher is legitimate and you would do well to remember that and spread the word. For those of you who insist on testing my mood, I have more wrenches for you. With that in mind, are there any other questions?"

another student raised his hand, and as a warning, Naruto took out another wrench and looked like he was prepared to throw it if he didn't like the question. The student gulped, but asked his question nonetheless. "Um, sensei," Naruto grinned at the title and lowered the wrench a bit, "Shouldn't we take him to the infirmary to make sure he's all right?" the student indicated to his downed friend who still had blood dripping from his head wound.

Naruto looked at the fallen kid and just shook his head. "Na, he should have been able to dodge that wrench. I didn't even throw it as hard as I could. Really, it's his own damn fault this happened. Leave him, and he can get up if he wants to." the students sweat-dropped a bit, trying to imagine how the kid in front of them ever got to be a teacher. "That reminds me," Naruto continued, "Dodgeball goes by many different names; be it prisonball, bombardment, whatever, it doesn't change the fact that by many, this sport is considered by many as the closest one can get to war without actually being on the battlefield. It is just the environment, the hostility all around you that makes the whole feeling, the want to eliminate your enemies palpable. I won't lie, this may change some of you. That being said, in war, bullets, grenades, mines, it doesn't matter, ordinance is never truly dead, and should always be considered deadly. Likewise, I never consider these balls to be dead. Ever. If it bounces and hits you, you're out. If it hits someone before it hits you, you're out. If it rolls across the ground and touches you, you're out. You must always be mindful of your surroundings. The only way you will not be out is if you catch the ball. You may only touch it with your hands. Is that clear?"

Naruto received various nods. By now, the students were starting to get intimidated. The blonde grinned. That was good. Throughout his speech, he had been releasing a suppressive aura gradually and slowly so no one really took notice of what was happening, knowing only not to mess with him. So far, no one had caught on.

"Now, unlike some versions of dodgeball you may have played before, catching a ball means nothing except for the fact that you aren't out. In war, if you somehow miraculously catch a bullet and don't get injured, it doesn't automatically kill the guy who took a shot at you. It doesn't bring your dead comrade back to life. Frankly, I find those rules to be utter bullshit. If you catch the ball, it does nothing but ensure your own continuance in the game. The only other way to survive here is if you deflect a thrown ball with one of your own. Now, at this point, some of you may just be thinking that you'll get hit at the beginning of the game and just sit out for the rest of the skirmish. Let me shoot those hopes down now. If anyone is hit, I will blow my whistle and call you out, you will then proceed to go to the far side of the room and do push-ups. When I blow my whistle again, you will start doing sit-ups. You will transition every time I blow my whistle, always starting with push-ups. If at anytime you stop without me telling you, I will throw wenches at you. Is that clear?" Naruto received many fearful nods, causing him to grin. He was definitely stating to enjoy this mission. "Good. Now, I want half of you on this side of the gym, and half of you on the other side. On your side, you will find coloured cloths to tie around your arms. This will help distinguish friend from foe. Like in war, you will be able to cross into enemy territory, i.e., the other side of the gym. However, don't expect to last very long. Now, get to your sides!"

The students all hustled at Naruto's shout, running into each other and almost everyone stepping on the unconscious student from earlier. As the students scrambled, Naruto proceeded to chuck three balls n each side of the room to the teams and place three more in the center of the room. It was a class of thirty, so he thought that would be enough ammunition for them. With that, he retreated back to the place where the dead would go.

"Now, if everyone's ready..." Naruto, placed his whistle up to his lips and was about to blow when someone cut him off.

"Umm, sensei?" Naruto sighed and looked to who had called him, someone on the purple side. He had decided to use purple and yellow cloth, why didn't matter, he just thought the colours contrasted nicely.

"What?" Naruto asked exasperatedly.

The girl looked slightly nervous as she continued. "Um, we only have fourteen people, and it's a class of thirty. What should we do?"

Naruto sighed again and proceeded to do a head count. Indeed, the purple team only had fourteen people while the yellow them had fifteen. Looking around, the blonde noticed the unconscious kid on the floor. "Hey, throw me that extra piece of cloth."

The student did so, and Naruto tied it around the boy's limp arm. He then proceeded to none too gently shove the boy over to the purple side with his foot.

Naruto wiped the imaginary dust off his hands and returned to his spot. Meanwhile, the girl knew she should have objected to hav9ing an already unconscious kid on her team, but in the end, she preferred self-preservation to any preconceived notions she had on fairness. Back at his spot, Naruto once again raised his whistle. "Now that that's settled, we can begin." With that, Naruto blew the whistle, and the gym floor all but erupted into chaos.

Immediately, balls started flying all over the place, bouncing off walls and the floor, but miraculously not hitting anyone. Naruto kept a keen eye on all of the balls, though, especially as a few students on both sides rushed towards the middle of the gym for more ammunition, becoming a prime target for the enemy. It wasn't long before a kid got hit in the head with a ball. The ironic thing was that he was hit by his own teammate.

Rubbing the back of his head, the student turned to yell at the guy who got him out. "Dude, what the fuck? Who's side are you on?" before the student go a chance to reply, Naruto blew his whistle, catching the student's attention.

"Quit your bitchin'! Your out!"

"C'mon teach! It was friendly fire!" the student tried to argue. While Naruto was glad that the student realized he was in charge, he nonetheless retrieved a wrench, causing the student to blanch.

"Oi, fucko, you have a hearing problem or something? This is war, damnit! You die if you get shot, regardless if it's a friend's fault or not! Now the guy who shot you has survivor's guilt, got that? Unless, of course, they're a heartless bastard with no morals. Now get you ass over here and start doing push-ups! You too!" out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw another student get hit, ordering him to get off the field.

Sure, the blonde realized that it might be more entertaining if he made the students do their exercises on the battlefield, giving the impression of dead comrades around the other students, but that would make it harder for him to see who was doing what they were supposed to and who wasn't. It would also make it more difficult for him to throw shit at people who deserved it. In the end, the blonde decided he would try it some other day, but would give the students a bit of a break for now.

It wasn't long before some foolhardy jackass decided to charge the enemies lines, thinking that he was Rambo or the Terminator or maybe even the Highlander or something, thinking that no one could hit him as he charged in with two balls. The blonde swore he could hear the distinct shout of, "There can be only one!" as the student let the balls fly, hitting two targets before he caught a ball and returned it to the guy who threw it at him. However, he was soon taken out by a ball to the face. Naruto blew his whistle and called the four students out, causing the other two already out to do sit-ups.

And so, the numbers of both teams withered and crumbled until there was only one yellow team member against one purple team member. Well, Naruto supposed it was actually one yellow team member against two purple team members, since the unconscious guy had somehow _not_ been hit at all. Sure, there were a few foot prints on him and he was covered in dirt, but he was still technically in the game.

Now, Naruto stopped to gauge the odds of each team winning. The purple side did have two members, the unconscious dude and a girl that appeared to be around his age. She had long and slightly messy purple hair and blue eyes that appeared to lack pupils. She was dressed in the usual bloomers girls wore to gym class along with a white sweatshirt with blue sleeves. Her skin was fair and she seemed to have what looked like a lollipop in her mouth, and held herself with a slightly timid air around her.

Looking over to the yellow side, Naruto fought the urge to sweat-drop. The only guy left, seemed to be a senior, was six-feet tall and covered in rippling muscle. With his large form, it was a wonder he wasn't hit yet. Naruto also noticed that the boy had eleven of the balls behind him as well as one in his hand. _'Talk about David and Goliath.' _However, despite that thought, Naruto wasn't willing to count the girl out like the other guy probably had.

Naruto watched as the guy chucked the ball at the, admittedly, cute girl. For several people, that ball seemed to move in slow motion. It continued on its way, headed directly towards the girl. The, something no one expected happened. The formerly unconscious boy slowly rose from the ground, rubbing his wound. "Ugh, where am I?" the ball soon impacted into his face, causing him to fall back as the ball went into the air before landing in the girl's hands. The boy's hands went up to his now red face as he started screaming and rolling around on the floor, causing all parties involved to just stare at him.

Almost hesitantly, Naruto blew his whistle. "Umm... you're out." the boy didn't seem to hear him, but Naruto was willing to let it go. Turning back to the game, Naruto saw the yellow team guy smirk.

"Go ahead girlie, try to hit me with that ball. I dare you." Naruto's eye twitched as the guy gloated. He wasn't even paying attention! The guy could have had the game, but it was all over the girl threw the ball, faster than anyone thought she could.

Naruto watched as the ball spun ad high speeds, traveling at a downward angle. The ball rebounded violently off the floor and shot straight up in between the guy's legs. His eyes widened comically and he let out a strained, high-pitched gasp as ball met balls. The towering boy fell onto his side, grasping his crushed sperm globes as tear poured from his eyes.

Naruto shifted a bit, feeling a phantom pain from the boy, but he supposed that the boy was just asking for it. Blowing his whistle for a final time, Naruto walked over to the girl and rose her arm into the air. "Winner: purple team! You guys over there can stop now." the people doing exercises collapsed onto the floor while some were more dignified and simply stood up, waiting for new orders. Naruto turned back to the girl. "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Um, Shirayuki Mizore, Naruto-sensei." despite her timid nature, the girl looked directly into Naruto's eyes, causing him to grin.

"Nice hustle out there, Shirayuki-chan!" as he said that, he clapped a hand onto the girl's shoulder, causing her to blush a bit and look down. "I hope you can keep showing these guys not to count you girls out just because they're bigger. You really did good." with that, he turned to everyone else, putting his serious face back on, though allowing a small smile to remain. "Alright, class is almost over, hit the showers! I hope you guy's will do better tomorrow and keep better attention of your surroundings. A lot of you got out simply because you didn't see the ball at your feet and walked right into it. Now go."

With that, the students slowly cleared out to the lockers. As the left, Naruto caught sight of Mizore and smiled bigger. She did seem to be a good student, and a good kid in general. He just hoped that she had found some good friends, and idly wondered if he should hang out with her to build up her confidence.

Naruto quickly shook his head to dismiss that thought. No, despite the fact that there was little to no age difference, he was still a teacher, and Mizore a student. It would be like him abusing his power over her. Then there was the fact that kids would start spreading rumors, saying that he was playing favorites or that they were doing things, generally making Mizore's life more difficult and getting him in trouble with the faculty. No, hanging around with her would probably do more harm than good.

Looking at the clock, Naruto saw that he only had one more class before his lunch-break with Shizuka. Naruto grinned at that. She was a nice person and was easy to get along with. He considered her a friend and hoped she held him in the same regard.

His thoughts were broken as the tone sounded and the kids began shuffling out, their muscles no doubt sore, as the new meat flowed in. Naruto grinned as he stood and got ready for the first fool to question his position as a teacher. Little did he know, a certain purple-haired girl had never left the room, and was hiding behind the bleachers, watching him.

/

Yeah, I probably should have made it longer what with how long I kept you waiting, but I kinda' like how this turned out. Hey, if nothing else, I introduced Mizore, another love interest. Hooray! Speaking of love interest, the results of the poll are in. as for InnerMoka being in the paring or not, the answer you guys voted on is... yes she's in. really, are any of you genuinely surprised? Sorry guy's who didn't want her in, but on the bright side, it won't be obvious she's interested until later. Truthfully, I didn't quite want her in either as it just makes everything more complicated, but, in the end, I am a man of the people, and, thus, I listen to them.

So, yeah, next chapter Naruto and Shizuka get a little bit closer, and I'll probably introduce Kurumu to Tsukune. I just want you all to know right now that I skipped out on, like, the first seven chapters of the manga, so if things don't play out as you remember, that's because I don't know what actually happened and my knowledge of the beginning comes from other fanfics. I also never read the Ruby arc, but I'll burn that bridge when I get their. I think that's about it, so hopefully I'll get the next chapter out before October. Now, if any of you have questions or ideas, contact me any way you wish and I'll see what I can do.

Oh, one last thing. My beta, Lykaos, recently had his computer crash horribly, and is now off-line for who knows how long. The sad part is that he lost all the notes he had on a story he was writing. I ask you all to wish Lykaos well and hope that he can get everything back together, as he has been a good beta and doesn't deserve what happened to him. Okay, I think that's it for real. As always, this has been a chapter from your fellow author, Acolyte of Truth, totaling 4,287 words!


	5. Strictly Professional

Hey guys, hows it goin'? Yeah, I don't actually care. Here's the next chapter. But, first I want to take the time to discuss something I don't usually talk about; reviews. Now, let me start by thanking you all for your kindness. You all send such nice comments. I'm sure that this will be my first story that actually gets over 100 reviews. So, thanks.

Also, last chapter was accepted rather warmly. Even those who didn't like it respected it, despite it being largely a "Dodgeball: An Underdog Story" rewrite. Oh well. And, thanks to a certain reviewer, I am now accepting ideas for games or sports that the kids can play. Just try to find a balance between roughness and life lesson. Another thing, you should check out the review page. There's actually some pretty funny and ironic stuff there. Any way, on with the story, which was beta'd by Lykaos.

/

Disclaimer: I don't own shit! Suck it!

/

Chapter 6: Strictly Professional

Naruto waited as patiently as he could for all the students to finish filing into the room, he really did, but the kids were moving way too slow. The blonde's eyebrow developed a twitch as another small group entered the gym, chuckling at some joke that was just told, just as Naruto was about to yell at everyone to shut up.

Naruto was anticipating the next period when he could finally relax with his favorite staff member, but his annoying and inconsiderate students were ruining his good mood. The blonde twitched a bit more, arms crossing over his chest in an attempt to keep from lashing out at his still talking students before even more entered, late.

He twitched again. However, he knew their was no need for violence at the moment. His students didn't know him, didn't know that he wanted their attention, didn't know they were out of line. So, taking a few deep and calming breath, Naruto closed his eyes for a moment and gathered himself.

A smile appeared on his face as he opened his eyes again. They twitched when he noticed even more students seemed to have entered the room when he wasn't looking. He didn't really pay them any mind, though. Instead, he clapped his hands together in hopes of getting his students' attention and spoke in what he thought was a friendly voice. "Okay everyone! Shut the hell up and let's start class!"

Okay, the wording wasn't the best to start things off, but it didn't really matter, as the students continued to ignore him. Naruto's smile quirked a bit before slipping completely as more late kids entered.

"Okay! Shut the hell up! I mean it this time!" still no response from the students. "Hey, don't make me start throwing wrenches at you!" if anything the talking just seemed to get louder.

Now, normally Naruto would have just let something like this go, but it was his mission to get these kids to pelt the shit out of each other with dodgeballs. And Naruto never failed a mission if he could help it. But, more than that, it was a matter of pride. He would not have his authority undermined by a bunch of kids!

Taking up his whistle, Naruto brought it up to his mouth before taking a deep breath, making sure to gather some chakra into his lungs, before letting loose on the metal object. The high-pitched shrill sound finally seemed to catch everyone's attention, as more than a few dropped to their knees yelling and grasping their ears. The ones who did little more than wince could be counted on one hand.

Finally, well over a minute that seemed like an eternity, Naruto let off, only slightly red in the face."About damn time," the blonde whispered under his breath as he noticed everyone seemed to be looking at them, though most people had contempt in their eyes. Not that he really cared. With that out of the way, Naruto opened his mouth to finally speak before he was quickly cut off.

"What that fuck was that for, kid? Shit, what's wrong with you?" finally fed up with his students, Naruto pulled out a wrench, took aim, and launched the tool and hit the student who spoke in the face before anyone knew what was going on.

"That's the final straw. To those too stupid to figure it out for themselves, I am your sensei. I am the one in control. You will do everything I say from this point forward, and I expect to hear absolutely no crap from any of you. Is that clear?" he received only nods. "Good. Now, we were going to play dodgeball, but, seeing as most of you were late all of you drop and start doing pushups. When I blow my whistle, you will do situps. When I blow my whistle again you will do jumping jacks, followed by jogging in place, followed by handstands, before starting all over again. If you stop, I will throw shit at you, if you hesitate, I will throw shit at you, if you get confused, I will throw shit at you. If you do anything besides what you're supposed to, I will throw shit at you. Now, everyone form rows of five by six."

"Wait, Sensei, I think my ears are bleeding." Naruto shot a harsh glare at the girl who spoke.

"Your forehead will be bleeding if you don't do as I say! Now go!" the girl wasted no time in lining up with the others as Naruto shot a glare at the boy he already hit. "You too! You don't get sympathy!"

When everything was said and done, Naruto still noticed a student missing. The blonde just shrugged it off. They would just make up what they missed after school. With that out of the way, the blonde brought his whistle to his lips and began blowing at random intervals, throwing everyone off quickly, but they caught themselves before Naruto threw a wrench at them. Soon people were sweating heavily.

Idly, the blonde had to wonder how he looked dressed in a white and blue tracksuit and a whistle in between his lips, one hand in his pocket while the other twirled a wrench in its fingers. Just slick back his hair and throw on a pair of aviator sunglasses and he imagined he would look pretty badass. Now the only question was where was he going to get a pair of aviators around here?

Eventually, the door opened and Naruto turned his head to see who it was, but not before hitting everyone else who looked with a warning shot. Into the gym walked a rather short blue-haired girl. A yellow sweater covered a large chest that reminded the blond of Tsunade. The girl's purple eyes locked with his and a smirk seemed to grow on her face, something Naruto didn't like. With that, the girl sauntered over to his position as he kept blowing his whistle.

"Are you in charge around here, handsome?" Naruto's face grew slightly red as the girl seemed to push her breasts out to him, but had little effect otherwise. "Sorry I'm late, but some things came up on my way here. You won't hold that against me, will you. Oh, by the way, my names Kurono Kurumu."

At the mention of her name, more than one of the male students looked up with hearts in their eyes. "Kurumu-cha-..." they were all cut off as they were hit by wrenches and slumped to the floor unconscious. With that done, the blonde turned back to the newcomer, wiping imaginary dust off of his hands.

"Of course I'll hold that against you," Naruto spoke, completely serious. "Now take your place and do the same as everyone else." Kurumu looked dejected as Naruto said that, but nonetheless tried to get out of gym class. She threw her arms around Naruto's neck and looked into his eyes while making her voice as low and flirtatious as she could.

"Come on sensei, you don't mean that, do you?" as she said this, she tried to charm the blonde man in front of her, her eyes glowing a bit. Naruto, feeling someone trying to mess with his mind, and having more than enough experience with things like this, quickly pumped chakra to his head and stopped whatever was happening. He then glared at the girl, figuring she was the cause.

"Whatever you're trying, it's not gonna' work. Get in line before I decide to keep you after."

Kurumu's eyes just widened. How did her charm not work? Hell, he wasn't even slightly effected. The blue-haired girl was utterly shocked. However, she still had one trick up her sleeve. Usually, she wouldn't do something like this, but she saw what the other kids were doing and thought it was brutal. She would probably die. Plus, Naruto wasn't that bad looking. Therefore, she would go for broke.

Putting on her best innocent face, the blue-haired girl sugar-coated her voice and moved in for what she hoped was the kill. "Please don't be that way, Sensei." with that, she took the whistle from Naruto's lips and placed a soft, sensual kiss their instead.

Naruto's spine went rigid as this happened and two pairs of blue eyes widened. He was not expecting anything like this. However, he wouldn't let this happen to him. He gently pushed the girl off of him and narrowed his eyes, face flushed. He just pointed to where everyone else was doing jumping jacks and growled out a low, "Go," to the girl. Kurumu, dumbfounded that all of her seduction techniques had failed, did as Naruto said. In the shadows of the gym, a smile came across a certain purple-haired girl's face. Naruto had just proved he had a strong will, something she admired.

For the rest of the class, Naruto would growl at his students or sent glares at them, and was much more judicious with the use of his wrenches. He had a headache now. When the bell finally rang, Naruto wasted no time in ditching his students, all of whom had the impression that he may be gay from his lack of reaction from Kurumu. They, too, left soon after the tone rang, leaving behind eleven of their friends to wake up long after their break was over and classes had started again.

/

Naruto arrived in the cafeteria rather quickly and saw that there were only a few people in line waiting to be served. The blonde quickly joined the queue, despite the fact that he wasn't really that hungry. In fact, he was still quite pissed from last period. He couldn't believe one of his students could be so... flippant to try and seduce him. However, despite the fact that he wasn't hungry, Naruto had found that this place actually made some good ramen, a meal he would eat regardless of his mood.

The line moved fast and he soon had payed for his bowl and made his way outside where some additional seating was found. These tables were often used on nice days like this by students and staff alike. In fact, the staff had roped off its own little seating section, which is where the gym teacher was planning on meeting his feline-like colleague. Sure enough, he soon saw Shizuka waving him over.

"Naruto-chan, over here!" the blonde woman had a warm and friendly smile on her face, something that helped to reinvigorate the young teacher. He quickly made his way over to his friend, ignoring the stares of other teachers who didn't yet know he was a teacher. However, no one called him on it, so he quickly made it over to the table and set his meal down.

"Hey, Shizuka-chan," Naruto greeted, trying to keep the exhaustion and lingering annoyance out of his voice. Shizuka, of course, caught the undertones and gently placed down her sandwich, a frown forming on her face as she tilted her head slightly to the side, concerned.

"What's wrong, Naruto-chan? Was your first day harder than you thought?" she received a sigh as she saw Naruto push his bowl of ramen to the side and rested his head in his hand.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't notice anything," Naruto said, still managing to be slightly cheeky. He got a slight smile from Shizuka, but she still had a concerned look on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Naruto looked up to Shizuka. "You sure you wouldn't mind hearing about it? The whole situations pretty petty when you think about it." The other teacher waved off his concerns.

"No, go on. We don't have much else to do here anyway. Besides, I want to make sure your adjusting well and can get along with everybody." Naruto smiled a bit at Shizuka's caring attitude. Maybe the rest of the day wouldn't be so bad.

"Well," began Naruto, preparing to sum up his day so far, "my first period class went rather well. Only one guy commented on my age, but no one else did after I... made an example of him." Naruto hesitated a bit, trying to find the right words. This only made Shizuka suspicious, though.

"And how did you do that, exactly?"

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I kinda' threw a wrench at him and threatened to do the same to anybody who questioned me." Shizuka just sweat-dropped at that. Of course that's what Naruto did. Ignoring his friend's reaction, Naruto continued. "Either way, class went by rather smoothly, everybody listened, and more than one student was really talented, even though a few got rather arrogant."

At this point, Naruto had to remember Mizore. She was such a nice girl, humble, talented, really she would make a good friend for anybody. However, she didn't seem like much of a go-getter, more of a person who would go with the flow. This only made Naruto feel worse knowing that it would be harder for him to make an impact in the girl's life.

Then again, maybe Naruto could be Mizore's friend, but in secret, despite his earlier reservations. You know, help her along like he had Tsukune and Moka so far. He was pretty sure he could be indiscriminate with them in class. Speaking of which, he was still going to see the other two later. Maybe today was starting to look up. Wow, he must be really lonely to want to see some of his students. Then there was the fact that his teacher-friend was also technically a cat. Yeah, he was pretty lonely.

Naruto was broken from his thoughts as Shizuka spoke. "So, what happened next?" she asked

A slight scowl came to Naruto's face. "Where to start? Well, first most of the little bastards were late to class. Then they completely undermined my authority by treating the class as a socialization period. No one took me seriously and I lost, like, ten wrenches due to theft. Those things are expensive, damnit!" Naruto decided to leave the whole incident with Kurumu out of the conversation. That would just make things awkward.

"Well, in the students' defense, it has hard for them to understand that someone their age, even younger in some cases, is an authority figure with power over them, especially when that teacher has never actually taught before. Even veteran teachers occasionally have trouble controlling new students in the beginning of the year."

"Aww, Shizuka-chaaaaan~," Naruto whined. It was a playful whine, though, one that brought a smile to the aforementioned teacher's face. "Don't tell me your siding with those... those little monsters." the irony and redundancy of that comment didn't hit Naruto until a while later. He was still getting use to the fact that almost no one here was actually human.

Shizuka knew what her friend meant, though. "Oh, relax, Naruto-chan. I'm not against you. You're just too cute." with that, Shizuka reached over and grabbed his cheek, idly stroking one of his whisker marks with her thumb. Naruto just blushed at the action, but let it happen, secretly liking it. The rest of the break was spent with small conversation and the two getting to know each other better. Eventually, the tone sounded, and the two teachers were forced to go their separate ways, with Naruto only hoping that the worst of his day was over.

/

As it turns out, Naruto's last few classes went much better than his previous one. In fact, Naruto didn't even have to throw any wrenches in his last class, something that came as a surprise to the blonde. He had thought that he would be using the tools for at least a week in his classes before the kids understood that he was in charge. He never knew rumors and news traveled so fast in high school.

Of course, there were some things that set the blonde on edge. For one thing, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Then there was the fact that some of his students seemed to be nervous. Sure, he wanted them to see he was top dog, so to speak, but he didn't want them thinking he would kill them if they did something that he didn't sanction, even though he probably could. But what made Naruto the most apprehensive was Tsukune's absence.

Naruto knew the kid's nature to try and help others and resolve matters peacefully, which the blonde would admit was admirable, but he knew not everything could be solved that way. Naruto had grown up knowing the cruelty of the world, had spent most of his teenage years in life or death struggles, and had many times tried the same approach Tsukune did. It didn't work every time.

That led Naruto to begin to worry. He knew the kid probably didn't have what it takes to fight back, not even really defend himself. He would be at the mercy of whoever he may be fighting with. Then again, he could always try to run. Somehow, Naruto didn't think so. Then there was the fact that Moka seemed uneasy.

The pink-haired girl was in his last class, and seemed very anxious. She wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around her and went out of the game pretty early on. Something wasn't right. As the tone signaled to everyone school was over Naruto called out to the girl to stay behind. "Hey, Akashia-san, wait up for a moment."

Moka turned around quickly, as if surprised. "Uzumaki-sensei?" she asked, slightly shocked. This just caused Naruto's eyes to narrow.

"Are you telling me you just realized I was here?" the girl looked down at her feet, slightly embarrassed.

"S-sorry sensei. I'm just a little out of it. It won't happen again."

"That doesn't matter," Naruto waved off the girl's concerns, "Tell me, what's going on with Aono-san?"

"H-how did you know?" she asked, even more shocked than before. Naruto looked slightly indignant.

"Please, I've seen how you act around each other. Your obviously good friends and your not as timid as most people would believe. I know because I'm a good judge of character. You're obviously in deep thought, so something must be going on. I just guessed it had to do with him. Besides, he hasn't been in my class all day. Something's going on, you know what it is, you want to get it off your chest, and I want to know what it is. The way I see it, it's a win-win situation. So why don't you tell me so I can help?"

"You really think you can help?" Moka seemed to contemplate this for a moment before seeming to agree. Naruto had helped her out before, after all. Just yesterday, in fact. "Well, you see, Tsukune-kun has been recently hanging out with this new girl. Now, I don't want to sound jealous or anything, I think it's good that he's making more friends, but he hasn't been acting himself ever since he met her. I can tell something's wrong. He hasn't been wanting to talk to me, and even told me off." as Moka spoke, Naruto's eyes continually narrowed and his jaw clenched. Something wasn't right. "Then there's the fact that Kurumu-san told me that we were rivals of love. I don't even know what that means."

"Wait!" Naruto said, eyes snapping wide open. Moka jumped slightly at the sudden interruption. "Do you mean Kurono Kurumu. Is she a girl with blue-hair and big boobs?"

The pink-haired girl looked slightly embarrassed at such a blunt description, but was happy that Naruto at least knew who she was talking about. "Yes, you know her?"

Naruto scoffed a bit "Yeah, I know her. Wish I didn't though. She tried to pull something over on me when she was late for gym class today. But I know what you mean. When I was talking to her, I think she tried messing with my mind."

"Do you think that that's what's wrong with Tsukune-kun?" asked Moka, slightly hopeful that Naruto had a solution to her problem.

"I can't be sure, but it sure sounds like it. Either way, we should start by getting him away from that girl. My first impression of her isn't that good anyway. Let's get moving." Naruto quickly made his way out of the gym, followed closely by Moka. As the door slowly closed, it was caught by someone, as they, too, followed the the blonde out of the building.

/

As soon as they had made it outside, Naruto turned to Moka. "So, any idea where they might be?" the rosette sweat-dropped a bit at that. How would she know?

"Sorry, I can't say that I do."

"Crap," Naruto said under his breath. "Well, I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way," with that, Naruto made a quick seal and in several poofs of smoke, three clones stood before the two. "Split up and search the premisses. Dispels yourself if you find them to let me know where they are." the clones nodded and all vanished in bursts of speed.

"Um, shouldn't you have made more clones? This place is pretty big, after all." Moka was slightly overwhelmed at the display and was left wondering what exactly Naruto was.

The blonde just shrugged. "Oh well, too late now."

"But can't you just make more?" Moka pressed. Naruto just sent her a bored look.

"Weren't you listening? I just said that it was too late. We'll just have to look on foot, then."

Moka wanted to know why it was too late, exactly, but decided not to pry further. Naruto had been kind enough to help so far, after all. As for the blonde teacher, he just wanted to see how far the girl was willing to go to help her friend. He already knew Tsukune was willing to lay down his life for Moka, he wanted to see what the girl would do for him in return.

It actually wasn't that long before Naruto and Moka found who they were looking for. Kurumu and Tsukune were sitting there on the ground, and it looked like the blue-haired girl was going in for a kiss. Naruto interrupted her action by loudly clearing his throat, catching both or the unsuspecting teens' attention.

Kurumu took one look at the two and growled. "Oh, it's you two."

"Of course. You were expecting someone else?" asked Naruto sarcastically. "You know, you two really should get a room. Anyone could stumble across you here." That wasn't exactly true. In fact, Kurumu and Tsukune were rather far away from the school, and it was unlikely anyone not looking for them with experience like Naruto's would have found them, mistake or otherwise.

Kurumu just smirked at the comment. "You're right, we probably should move this to a more private location. Now, if you'll excuse us..." the girl let the sentence hang as she began dragging Tsukune away. That is, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Kurumu jumped and looked behind her, only to see Naruto standing there, looking calm and collected. Turning back around, Kurumu saw that neither Naruto nor Moka had seemed to have moved. Slowly, Kurumu moved her head back and forth, trying to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, there were two Narutos.

"W-what the hell?" she asked, confused by what was going on. First this guy was able to resist her charm, now he was able to be two places at once. What was he?

"What should I do with her, boss?" asked the clone. Naruto was about to answer, but was cut off by Kurumu's yell.

"Tsukune! Help!" Naruto would have scoffed at that, the idea of Tsukune actually striking anybody sounding absurd to him. His thoughts were halted, however, as Tsukune struck his clone, dispelling it with a solid hit. That just annoyed the blonde. This girl had made Tsukune attack someone he should know would do no harm to anyone currently there. Even if it was just a clone, the principal still remained. Kurumu just smiled. "Good job, Tsukune-kun. Now, attack them and get them to leave us alone!"

Something only Naruto noticed was that there seemed to be some hesitation and resistance in Tsukune's movements. It showed that he was trying to fight the influence, and that it wasn't all encompassing. Apparently, Kurumu couldn't make a person do something they strongly opposed. If Naruto were to guess, Tsukune didn't want to harm Moka. In that case, Naruto would just need to have Tsukune prepare to do something radical.

The blond didn't have much time to think, as Tsukune was soon in front of him, fist caulked back ready to hit him. Naruto wasn't really worried, as his clone's memories had shown him Tsukune wasn't particularly strong. He let himself get hit, rolled with the punch, and dropped to the ground, you know, for effective presentation. It looked like Tsukune was about to continue his attack, but Moka quickly stepped in front of him.

"Tsukune-kun, please, stop!" she cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't want this to continue. She wanted her friend back. True to Naruto's theory, the boy stopped himself from striking the girl, causing the blonde to form a hidden smirk. If worst came to worst, Naruto would stop him, but right now, he had faith that Moka could put an end to this.

"What are you doing? Beat her up!" Kurumu yelled. She was surprised Tsukune had managed to take Naruto out in one hit. Maybe she had made the right choice in picking a personal slave.

"N-no! I won't harm Moka-san!" Tsukune's declaration surprised most people there, but also pleased many of them. Kurumu, however, was angered.

"What?" she screeched. Sure, she was shocked. It was one thing to be able to prevent a succubus' charm, but it was another to be able to break out of it. In the end, her anger won out, though.

"I won't attack Moka-san! She's my friend, and I won't hurt her!"

"Fine!" with that, Kurumu began to change into her monster form. Her nails elongated to almost a foot in length, she sprouted leathery wings from her back, and a tail grew. "If you won't harm her, I'll just hurt you both!" Kurumu than flew up into the air, before starting to dive-bomb her targets.

Before she could get far, Naruto decided to act. He sprung up on his hands and then jumped up into the air, high above Kurumu where he proceeded to do some seals as the others watched in shock. As he finished, he shouted, "Futon: Daitoppa no Jutsu!" with that, he blasted a large gust of wind out of his mouth, sending Kurumu back down to earth. It also brushed Moka and Tsukune a bit, but they remained largely unaffected.

From her new place crouched on the ground, Kurumu glared up at Naruto as he descended and landed a few feet away from her. "Why you..." the girl began to charge towards the blonde, flight completely forgotten, before she was frozen in her tracks, quite literally, and encased in a block of ice. Everybody looked on in surprise and saw a familiar purple-haired girl standing by the frozen girl.

Naruto flashed her a smile, "Hey, Mizore-chan, how are you doing?"

Mizore quickly bowed to the teacher as a sign of respect. "I'm fine, sensei. I only wanted to help."

"wait, you know this girl, sensei?" asked Tsukune. Naruto flashed the boy a grin.

"Of course. Hell, I just might call her my star pupil." this, of course, caused Mizore to blush and look away.

"Well, regardless, thank you for the help." Moka said, bowing a bit.

"It was no trouble."

"Well, either way, thanks." said Tsukune. "Say, there's still some time before the days fully over. Do you guys want to hang out?" Tsukune was slightly nervous asking this, but was also eager to make friends. He received a hesitant nod from Mizore.

"Sure." with that, all eyes turned to Naruto, waiting for his answer. The blonde just sighed.

"Unfortunately, I have to take this trouble-maker to detention, so I'll have to pass. By the way, do you think you can defrost her, Mizore-chan?" he received a nod and in moments, Kurumu was left shivering from the cold.

"D-detention? W-what f-f-for?"

"Well for starters, you attacked other students, staff, used your powers without authorization, and revealed your true form. Your lucky that it's only for today, mostly because I'm feeling lenient and don't want to spend prolonged periods of time with you."

"B-but what about h-her?" Kurumu asked, pointing at Mizore. "She used her p-powers t-too!" Naruto spared the purple-haired girl a glance before turning back to Kurumu.

"What are you talking about? You tripped and fell. It's your own fault you got caught." with that, Naruto placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and spun her around. "Now march." Begrudgingly, Kurumu began to walk away with Naruto in tow, shivering all the way. But her thoughts remained on the boy who had managed to break her charm.

Meanwhile, Naruto shot one last glance at Mizore and her knew friends, an unseen grin coming to his face. It looks like he had somehow been able to help the girl along after all. She deserved friends, and he got her some. With a final thought, he left the scene with Kurumu and brought her to his office. _'All in all, today wasn't so bad.'_

/

So, what do you think? Remember, your review provide me with much entertainment. Now, some of you may think that Naruto hasn't been showing off as much as he might. That's true. Now, my justification is that, while Naruto is still largely himself, he is in a new place, he doesn't exactly know his environment, and he's trying t lay low and not destroy too much shit. I also don't want him to take over the spotlight. There are other characters I want to develop.

Now, here's the harem information; Naruto get's Shizuka, Mizore, InnerMoka, and now Kokoa, because I thought it was a good idea. Tsukune get's OuterMoka, Kurumu, and Yukari, and, just for shits and giggles, Gin gets Ruby. Is everyone still semi-happy? Also, I want you all to take a look at the new pole in my profile. It will go on as long as it has to.

Now go on, get outta' here. This has been a chapter by your fellow author, Acolyte of Truth, totaling 5,383 words.


	6. The Prank War

Hey guys. Yeah, it's been a while. Now, in favor of keeping myself as intact as possible as opposed to making you wait longer than necessary, I'll save my bullshit until after the chapter. Uh, sorry for the wait?

/

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Moving on.

/

Chapter 6: The Prank War

Also Known As: The Week Naruto Found Out He Didn't Want Children

For Naruto, the rest of the week went by rather fast. That didn't mean that it wasn't fun, however. It had all started the day after Kurumu's detention, a Wednesday. First period he dropped by Shizuka's class as was becoming per usual. At first, he just wanted to drop in and say hello to his friend and torment her class a bit. He finally saw what Kakashi got out of all this now.

However, it was soon that some kid said something about him and Shizuka that Naruto didn't fully go along with. Of course, if you asked anyone else in the class, they would all agree that the student had merely made a simple observation and the blonde teacher overreacted. But, did it really matter who misinterpret what?

The point is, Naruto quickly reacted, hefting the closest thing near him that wouldn't do any permanent damage at the student, which just so happened to be an eraser. It whizzed sharply through the air and impacted with the student's head with a dull thump and with enough force to cause him to pitch back from his lax position. He yelped in shock and slight pain and just sort of remained in a single position, his hands reaching up to grab his head, but not quite touching it. The most comedic part was that by some unknown force, the eraser remained on his forehead for a few seconds before slowly coming off and plopping onto his desk.

The whole class either tried to stifle chuckles or let them out in rolling waves of laughter as the eraser revealed that it had left a chalk print, which the student quickly wiped away to show an angry red mark underneath. This, of course, just caused the laughing to redoubled, and Naruto to stand with a satisfied smirk on his face, arms crossed.

In fact, out of everyone in the room, only four people weren't laughing, in their head or otherwise. One was the student who had gotten hit, but that was pretty much a given. If it was at someone else's expense, you know that he would be laughing his ass off. Then there was Moka and Tsukune.

They just regarded the whole scene with of sheer awkwardness. On one hand, they were beginning to get used to the boy's child-like antics, despite the fact that he was supposed to be more of a professional. On the other hand, after seeing him in several serious situations and witnessing his power, the two thought him to be a wee bit bipolar. Hell, the victim hadn't even really done anything.

And the last person who didn't like the idea of Naruto abusing students made her disposition known by smacking him over the head with a ruler. This, of course, caused the bewhiskered boy to jump up and yelp in pain. He spun around and saw Shizuka standing there, a frown on her face and her squinty eyes turned down. The ruler that she had hit him with was being bounced up and down in the palm of her hand, almost like she was ready to hit him again.

"Naruto-kun," began the cat-like woman, "Why do you insist on abusing my students?"

"Because it's so boring for me first period and I need to warm up before they actually do come to my class." this, of course, earned Naruto a more playful whack upside the head. The boy grabbed his head, feeling a small goose-egg forming.

"Please, Naruto-kun, try to act more professional. You're setting an example to these students."

"Hey, I'm professional," Naruto said, a bit indignantly, "right guys?" the class was strangely quiet, and when he began to stare at Moka and Tsukune in hope, they refused to make eye contact. Seeing this, the blonde sighed. "Fine, you're right," Naruto slumped in defeat. "Sorry, Shizuka-chan." as he said this, he rubbed his battle wound, an embarrassed grin on his face.

Seeing this, his fellow teacher also smiled. "I'll forgive you, Naruto-kun, just let me be the one to handle my students."

"No promises." Naruto left out the window soon after that so his friend could get back to teaching her students. He then went back to his office to wait for the next period to start. Of course, after five minutes he became bored and began riffling through drawers, not really expecting to find anything, but only looking to kill a few minutes. Imagine his surprise when he opened the center drawer and found it filled with personal possessions.

Apparently, the people who had cleaned out the office had only bothered with removing the junk from the surface of the desk, but had left everything inside. So, looking around the cramped room conspiratorially as if someone was watching him, and then began to look through his predecessor's shit.

The first thing he fished out was a large rubber band ball, causing Naruto to smile to himself. So, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the desk, he began bouncing it off the floor and far wall where it then came back to his hand. Of course, after a few minutes, he missed and the ball landed in the middle of the room. Not really feeling like getting up, Naruto went back to the drawer.

The next thing Naruto pulled out was a tube of hair gel, causing the boy to eye it strangely. Well, that was unexpected. He placed it on the desk and then went back in, pulling out something else. It took him a while to fully register that he had just found a pair of aviators. Looking from the sunglasses to the hair gel, an excited smile soon began to grow on Naruto's face.

A few minutes later, the blonde had his hair slicked back and was wearing the glasses. He soon took them off, pocketing them for class later. Next, he pulled out something that made his eyes widen. "Holy fuck," he said to himself. Lying in the palm of his hand was a pair of nunchaku.

Naruto soon found himself in the middle of the room, twirling the (to any logical person, useless) weapon around, doing a bunch of acrobatics while he was out it. Of course, Naruto had never used nunchaku before, and took only his ninja training as enough to qualify him for proper use. He, of course, smacked himself in the face.

Stumbling back, the blonde tripped on the rubber band ball that he hadn't bothered to pick up and crashed into a bunch of desks, where he soon became entangled in the pile. Shoving a few desk away, Naruto got up and looked a bit bashful, the only thing he was able to say being, "Oh, wow." He then picked up the ball and brought both it and the nunchaku back over to the desk, depositing both into the bottom drawer. He then looked back to the mess and said, "I'll get it later."

glancing to the clock, Naruto figured that he had time for one last expedition into the desk. So reaching in, he pulled out the first thing that he could get a grasp on. Pulling it out, he found that it was a magazine. A childrens' magazine. And by that, I mean a magazine with children in... ahem, suggestive positions.

For the longest time, it seemed, Naruto just sat there and stared at the magazine, a blank look on his face. Slowly, a frown began to form, which quickly morphed into a scowl. With as much contempt as possible, Naruto strode to the window, violently flung it open, and tossed the trash out.

But that wasn't the end of it. Instead, he quickly formed handseals and shouted out, "Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" a large fireball shot out from his mouth and ignited the magazine, vaporizing half of it to ash immediately. As the smoldering remains fell to the ground, Naruto walked back to the desk, closed the drawer, and exited his office. As he proceeded to his class, he thought that he at least learned something about his predecessor and got rid of that scum-filled magazine.

As Naruto entered the gym, he found, much to his dismay, that the lights were off. The vast darkness in front of him seemed impenetrable, the light from behind him going no further than a few feet at best and the light from the high windows above not reaching the ground. Even Naruto's better than average eyesight couldn't cut through the darkness. The worst part was, he didn't know where the light switch was in the first place, having gotten lucky with it already being on the previous day.

With a sigh, the blonde formed a few handseals and with a few puffs of smoke, he was greeted with three clones. "Okay," he began, wanting to get this over with, "You two go to the far end of the room and start searching for a switch over there, you'll start with me, going that way along the wall. Let's get these lights on."

"Right," the clones chorused, and thus they began, the door closing behind them. A few minutes of fruitless searching later, Naruto sort of regretted not leaving the door open, as at least then he would know where the exit was and regroup with everyone. His clones seemed to hold the same sentiment. Suddenly, one called out, "Hey, why don't you use a jutsu of some kind to brighten up the room? That way, we might have a better chance off finding the lights."

"Why didn't I think of that?" he asked to himself. Another clone soon fielded that question.

"You did, but you didn't want to chance damaging anything if something went wrong."

"Right," Naruto then decided to stop talking to himself and instead redouble his efforts in finding the damn switch. A few minutes later, the blonde finally succeeded and the room was violently illuminated. Naruto winced from the brightness, and, quickly thinking, pulled out his second-hand aviators and put them on. Grinning at accomplishing his task, Naruto then moved to the center of the room to wait for his students, glasses still on, hair still slicked back, and arms crossed, dressed in his white tracksuit.

And it wasn't long before the bell finally rang, signaling that students would soon start filing into the class. However, the blonde was caught off guard when not fifteen seconds later, a student opened the doors and entered the room. It was surprising because the building was about forty meters from the main building of the school, and the door was on the furthest wall not facing the facility.

Naruto recognized the person right off from her unmistakable shade of purple hair. It was Shirayuki Mizore, dressed in the female gym uniform, though wearing her dark-sleeved sweatshirt. The blonde could also see a lollipop in her mouth.

Surprised as the young teacher was, he was still pleasantly surprised, so Naruto greeted his, probably, favorite student with a friendly smile. "Hey Shirayuki-chan, you're here early."

the girl just looked away slightly, her nervous nature clearly showing, though also curious as to the boy's new look. "I guess I'm just really punctual," the girl replied, not being entirely truthful it wasn't like she could just say that this was the only class that she showed up to. Of course, Naruto had no reason to doubt the girl's excuse, no matter how suspicious it was. So, he let it go with a shrug, much to Mizore's relief.

"Well, it's good to be able to talk to you again," Naruto said. He didn't notice Mizore's slight blush. "By the way, how did you get along with Tsukune and Moka the other day?"

"Oh, good, I guess. They seem to like me well enough, and I enjoy their company. Thanks for introducing me to them."

"Hey, don't mention it. No offense, but you seemed lonely, and I know that those two are nice people, just like you." again, Mizore blushed from the compliment. Naruto saw the reaction this time, though, and decided to embarrass the girl more. "In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I'm a teacher, and people may see it as inappropriate, I would be your friend."

"R-really?" Mizore's blush grew deeper, and she tried to avoid eye-contact in an attempt to regain her bearings. When she received an affirmative, she couldn't help but think that she wished she could befriend her teacher.

The conversation was cut right then, as three other people entered the gym, they soon ended their conversation, obviously not wanting to risk getting on Naruto's bad side. They had heard what had happened in the other classes. This had the effect of making Naruto grin. And who said you didn't learn anything in gym class? You learned not to piss off the wrong people.

The class had proceeded much like the previous day, though with much less verbal complaint. It was at that moment that Naruto decided that this was definitely his smartest class. It soon ended, with Mizore and two of her teammates remaining. It was then time for the class to end.

As the last of the students filed out, the blonde idly wondered how misbehaved the next class would be. Surprisingly enough, not very. Maybe it was due to the impression that he had made yesterday? Or it was the imitating image he had today? Naruto personally liked to believe it was thanks to the glasses.

Then again, everyone had showed up on time today, so maybe it had a little to do with the former. From the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted Kurumu, who wasn't even attempting to hide the contempt in her glare at him. That was probably to be expected from making her so bored the other night and ruining that plan she had. Naruto just directed a cheeky grin at the succubus, which just caused the girls' body to start to shake with rage. Mentally, Naruto laughed, especially when a few other students began to move away from the girl.

Before Naruto knew it, the class was over, and just when he was starting to have so much fun. As he walked away, he did so with the knowledge that those students weren't as stupid as he initially made them out to be. They were still idiots in his book, but they weren't hopeless. Naruto then decided not to dwell on the topic for much longer, instead focusing on going to meet Shizuka for lunch.

As he was walking by a patch of trees and bushes in the courtyard, though, Naruto thought he heard something rustling. His curiosity getting the best of him, the blonde stopped and, sure enough he could feel someone hiding in the undergrowth just to his right. So peaking in, Naruto was slightly surprised to find Kurumu.

The girls back was facing him, and she was crouching down low so as minimize her profile. From the looks of it, she had yet to notice him, so intent on whatever she was doing as she was. So, using the most of his training to ensure that the girl remained oblivious, Naruto slowly and steadily crawled up beside her.

He succeeded in his objective, as the girl still stared intently ahead. Cocking his head to the side, Naruto turned to look in the general direction that his student was focusing on. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively as he caught sight of Tsukune, Moka, and Mizore having lunch together. He could see that the latter girl was shifting around a bit nervously, and that the other two were trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

Turning his head back to his stalker-mate, he concluded that, yes, Kurumu was watching the group, Tsukune specifically. However, instead of the malice Naruto expected to see in her eyes, there was almost a longing quality to them. Now, that got him to start thinking.

Was Kurumu lonely? Was attempting to enslave everyone everyone her coping mechanism for her own loneliness. Naruto supposed he could relate to that. Hell, he had played the fool most of his life in an attempt to get people to like him, no matter how fake the friendship may be. Was it the same for her, wanting something she could pretend was real? Of course, Naruto wasn't a psychologist, so he had no fucking idea if that was anywhere near true or not. But hey, what's the worst that could happen from testing out his theory?

A slight grin then appeared on Naruto's face. He might as well have a bit of fun with this. So, creeping even closer to the girl, Naruto put his lips right next to her ear and in a loud whisper, said put one word. "Boo."

The blonde quickly grabbed the girl and covered her mouth by wrapping his arm around her head so the inside of his elbow captured all of the noise. He then brought himself into view the best he could from being slightly behind Kurumu and held a finger up to his mouth in a shushing motion. As he released her, she quickly turned on him, glaring, and in a hushed whisper, asked him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the teacher replied with a shrug. "I mean, most people don't hide in the bushes and spy on people. You know, unless you're a creepy stalker. Or, I guess it would be reasonable if it was an aspect of your job. Then again, most people only get into those types of jobs because they like the prospect of stalking."

"What are you talking about?" Kurumu was getting impatient. First this guy ruins her plan and gets her in trouble, then he scares her half to death, and now he's talking nonsense. What was wrong with him?

However, at that comment, Naruto broke out of his thought about if what he said meant he was a closet-stalker or not and fixed the girl with a confused stare. "What?" Kurumu just sighed in annoyance, before Naruto spoke up again. "Oh yeah, you're lonely."

Indignant, Kurumu was about to shout and ask what he was talking about, but, predicting this, Naruto once again covered her mouth to make sure no one else heard this conversation.

"You're a bad stalker, Kurono-san," the blonde stated matter-of-factually.

"I'm not a stalker!" she whispered back harshly. She chose to ignore her teacher's comment of, 'Could've fooled me,' and instead decided to ask the question at the forefront of her mind. "And what do you mean I'm lonely? Have you noticed the amount of boys that surround me daily, or are you blind?"

"True, you're surrounded by boys, but that doesn't make you happy, now does it? They don't like you for your personality, but only for your body, and you know this. But you didn't care, because you chose to pretend that it was real, until yesterday, that is. I won't ask exactly what triggered this, but all you want now is a true friend. That's why you're jealous of those three over there right. They just barely met, and already they seem like best friends. You want something like that, don't you?"

Kurumu remained silent, but her head turned downwards. Despite trying her best to hide it, a bit of sadness shone through in the girl's eyes. That was all the answer Naruto needed.

The blonde stood up and turned around, Kurumu looking up after him. As he started to leave, he looked back over his shoulder and said one last thing. "I'm not saying you need to, but go apologize to them for whatever you did. I know their kind, and they're all forgiving at heart. They'll give you a second chance despite past transgressions, and accept you as you are. All you need to do is learn some humility, and humbleness," and with than, Naruto left Kurumu to herself.

He found out later that everything he had said was true. Kurumu quickly became friends with the small group, and, much to his amusement, ignited a rivalry for Tsukune's affection. The object of the competition, however, was completely clueless. And the rest of the week had passed without any other outstanding events, and since then, Naruto had stopped slicking back his hair, as he had learned that it stuck his hair together in clumps rather annoyingly. Now it was Sunday. Naruto secretly expected something was about to happen.

And one could say he was right. For it was at that moment that Naruto spotted quite the spectacle. It was a small girl, probably not even a teenager yet, dressed in a light brown shit, a pointy and slightly lopsided hat, a skit, and stockings.

Now, the fact in and of itself that such a young girl was at a highschool was amazing, and why he had not seen her in his class yet made him suspicious, but the reason for that could wait to be discovered, for what was happening now was that she was being terrorized by three older boys.

Now, at first, Naruto was considering just shrugging it off and forgetting that anything had happened, even if he would feel slightly sick about himself afterwards. After all, it was his day off, and he really didn't want to watch after a bunch of kids in detention. It was as he was putting on his second-hand aviators and preparing to walk away that the blonde re-thought that decision.

The girl had pulled out what looked like a pink stick with a heart on the end of it behind her back. She twirled it and the center began to glow. Above the leader of the small group, a bedpan appeared before the laws of gravity kicked in and caused it to slam down into his head with a clang. The boy fell backwards holding his head as his two henchmen rushed to his side as the small girl laughed.

Naruto, too, wanted to laugh, but instead frowned. All that the girl had managed to do was antagonize the boys while trying to extract amusement from the situation. She should have focused on knocking them out, or at least trying to get away now while she had the chance. She was too sure of herself.

The leader soon got back up, a scowl on his face. He bounded up to the still laughing girl who wasn't paying attention and roughly grabbed her. The jarring surprise caused her to drop her magic stick as she was lifted up and the boy raised his fist. It was then that Naruto decided that this had gone on long enough and he needed to stop this.

He quickly started forward and was about to catch the group's attention when someone beat him to the punch. "Hey, stop that!" everyone involved turned to the source of the shout and saw that it was Moka, Tsukune following close behind her. Against all better judgment, Naruto decided to let this pan out a bit more.

The boy lowered the small girl to the ground and pushed her aside. The, with his goons behind him and a self satisfied smirk, he said, "Make me." unnoticed to everyone else, the girl had retrieved her stick and waved it around a bit. Three more bedpans appeared and landed on the small group's heads. They all fell to the ground, unconscious.

Moka and Tsukune quickly approached the girl, and the conversation that ensued was unheard by Naruto, but it appeared that the small girl was blushing and thanking Moka. Suddenly, the pink-haired girl shrieked as she was molested by the small girl who was groping her breasts. Tsukune and anyone else watching blushed, dirty images running through their minds, Naruto included.

The brunette boy soon got the young girl off of his friend though and looked to be chastising her for doing such a thing, in public, no less. The girl looked upset about this and shouted something in his face, before waving her stick for a final time and sending him to the ground.

As Moka tended to her pained friend, the young girl rushed off to hide. Taking one last look at the other two, Naruto figured that they would be fine and quickly followed after the young girl. He wanted to have a talk with her.

/

It wasn't long before he had found the girl. She was hiding out in an abandoned classroom, trying to stay out of sight. She was curled up against the wall, and it looked like she hadn't seen him enter. Naruto walked further into the dark room, sliding up his glasses so they sat on top of his head and didn't obscure his vision.

Now that he was close to the girl, he was able to make a few more observations about her. She had light brown hair that reached the top of her shoulders and purple eyes. Eyes that caught sight of his feet and turned up towards him as he got closer. Naruto just nodded to her as she made eye contact. "Hey, strange place to be hiding out. Want to talk about something?"

Naruto extended a hand towards the girl to help her up, but she just batted it away and remained sitting against the wall. "Who the hell are you?" she asked with a scowl.

"A brat like you shouldn't use that kind of language." already Naruto was becoming annoyed with the girl. All he was trying to do was help and she was mouthing off at him. Maybe this was a mistake? Oh well, no time to second guess himself now. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, teacher."

"You, a teacher? Yeah right. What are you, sixteen at the most?" the girl sneered at him, causing Naruto to scowl a bit himself. "At least try to make your lies a bit more believable."

"Says the girl who isn't even a teenager yet," Naruto said. That got the girl to quiet down, if only for a bit. "So, what's your name?"

At first, it seemed that she wouldn't answer, but just as the blonde was about to ask again, the girl spoke up. "Sendo Yukari," she said.

Finally thinking he was getting somewhere, Naruto allowed himself to grin. "Nice to meet you Sendo-chan."

Yukari frowned at that. "Hey, don't act like we're friends or anything. You don't know anything about me, and I don't know you." There was a bit more silence before the small girl asked a question. "Um, Uzumaki-sensei, what subject do you teach, exactly? I haven't seen you around."

"Oh, I teach gym class. That reminds me, though. Why haven't I seen you?"

The small girl looked a bit down at that, answering only, "Oh, and here I thought we had something in common."

"What's that supposed to me? And answer my question." Again with the condescending tone, but at least he was getting somewhere.

"What I mean is, gym is a useless subject that only people that have no practical knowledge participate in. I thought that you actually taught a useful subject and were an intellectual like me."

"Hey, I teach my class useful life lessons! If you were an intellectual like you claim, you would at least see my class once before passing judgment. And if you're calling me stupid, you're dead wrong."

"I'll believe that when I see it," the girl said with a huff. Naruto allowed himself a small, annoyed grin.

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

Yukari, too, decided to grin, though there was a hint of superiority in it. "Perhaps it is."

"And what is it that you have in mind?" Naruto asked, curious. This may have been the last thing that he expected, but he was willing to go for it.

"Ever since I've been here, I've been playing tricks on the other students, mostly if they were mean to me. The challenge is simple. Whoever can play the most tricks on the other person by the end of the day Friday, wins, and they can get the person to do one thing they want. So, any questions, or do I need to go over the whole thing again more slowly so you can understand?"

Naruto's grin turned competitive at that. "Only one. When do we start?"

As those words left his mouth, Yukari's grin grew, something that made Naruto slightly uncomfortable. "Right now." and with a small wave of the stick, Naruto soon found himself soaking wet, a bucket stuck on his head. As he fought to pry it off, Yukari bounded out of the room, laughing. She was gone by the time he had gotten it off, and only one thought came to mind. The war had officially started.

/

Naruto had decided to let the girl go for the rest of the day. After all, what did he have to worry about? He was the undisputed king of pranks and trickery in Konoha, even if he had lightened up once he grew up. The point was, what did he have to fear from a small girl when it was obvious (to him, at least) he had much more experience than her?

Besides, a good prank wasn't spontaneous like most art forms. Pranking was something that was well planned and had follow-through. You needed to know your target's movements, their habits. You needed an escape plan in case things went terribly wrong. In a prank war like this, you may also need to give your enemy counter-intelligence, breaking normal routines and moving randomly, unpredictably.

Of course, in this type of prank war, it was quantity, not quality that mattered. However, Naruto liked to see himself as a traditionalist. He was going to do this right. What Yukari had done was reminiscent of a sucker-punch. If that's all she could do, Naruto was sure that he could easily get the one-up on her. Therefore, he saw no reason to overexert himself. It was still the weekend, and he was going to relax, damnit!

As he walked to his office, he idly wondered how the other teachers entertained themselves during their off time. Maybe they were just glad they didn't have to teach for once? Well, Naruto wasn't content with just that. He needed something to do. Then again, maybe today could be the exception. It would give him a chance to think of ways to trick the girl, at the very least.

He snapped out of his thoughts, though, as he approached the office. His eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed that the door was ajar. While it was true that he didn't keep the place locked (why would he? He didn't keep anything valuable in there, except maybe the drawer of mysteries) he didn't really understand why somebody would want to go there.

Naruto walked up to the door cautiously, and why he was right up next to it, he peeked up through the crack on top and, sure enough, saw a bucket balanced up there on the improvised ledge. The blonde shook his head, slightly disappointed, but with a small grin on his face. "Really, the same prank twice in the same day? How stupid does she think I am?"

With that, Naruto pushed the door open and allowed the bucket full of water to clatter to the floor and drain its contents. Shaking his head at the absurdity of it all, he then proceeded inwards. He failed to notice the small, low-hanging wire that he stepped on.

He was caught completely off guard as something slimy and scaly smacked into his face, sending him staggering backwards. He, of course, soon wandered into the previously spilt water and tripped, landing on his back with whatever his him came to a rest on his chest. Naruto faintly heard the sound of laughter.

Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw Yukari, who smiled at him before scurrying away. It was then that Naruto, in his still dazed state, noticed something reeked. Looking down, he was met with the blank, lifeless, and round-eyed stare of a large fish laying on him. Worst of all, he was now covered with the fetid fish liquid, and was doubtful that the stench was going to go away anytime soon.

Leaning back, Naruto allowed his head to bounce off the floor a few time. He had to admit, he hadn't seen that coming. The girl had some skill after all. Two things were certain. One was that the prank war was officially on, and that he needed to step up his game, and soon. The other was that meeting with Shizuka later that day was going to be awkward.

/

Naruto was glowing with rage as he walked past various students to meet up with Shizuka. Well, not really rage, exactly, but the blonde was pissed enough that a miniscule amount of the Kyuubi's Youkai was leaking out and giving him a slight orange hue. The reason why he was pissed was very simple, actually.

After falling victim to Yukari's latest prank, Naruto had tried to scrub the stench of fish off of himself. It, quite predictably, didn't work, and as such, he received a bunch of stares from everyone he walked past. At first, he put up with it the best he could, but the looks and comments behind his back soon wore precariously thin. He would have lashed out soon, but his oppressive aura luckily kept the students on edge enough to leave him alone.

Meanwhile, Shizuka was sitting at her usual table, nibbling at her sandwich and waiting for Naruto to show up. He was a strange one, she had to admit. However, she still saw the boy as her friend, even if certain other people saw it as strange. She saw Naruto as a colleague; she was a professional.

However, that didn't mean that a part of her didn't wish for something more. Truth be told, Shizuka was lonely. Truly, she hoped to pursue a relationship, but just couldn't find the time. She didn't really get along with any other teachers, and Naruto was the first one whop had been so open with her.

She had tried to have a relationship once after she started working at the school. Shizuka had gone on a few dates with a surprisingly gentlemanly bus driver with glowing white eyes and a penchant for cigars. It didn't work out, though, as he apparently had a bunch of responsibilities in the human world and they couldn't see each other often. But, they were still friends.

The woman was broken out of her thoughts as something slammed down at the table, causing her to jump slightly. She relaxed once she noticed that it was Naruto. However, she just stared on, confused, as he put his head down on the table and covered it with his arms. "Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

"Ah, some stupid issue with a student. Don't worry about it," was all ha said as he waved the woman off. The woman frowned a bit, but realized that the job could be very stressful at times. So, she just let it go. However, that was when she noticed something. Something that she was surprised that she missed.

Before Naruto knew it, Shizuka was right next to him, holding his chin in her hands and looking at him through glazed eyes. She brought his face close to hers and took in a big whiff of his scent, causing the blonde to blush. "Naruto-kun, why do you smell so... good." Naruto's blush only increased as Shizuka started to lick his cheek, almost as if in a trance. Yeah, he was going to make sure that little brat paid for this awkward situation.

/

It was early Monday morning when Mizore was awoken from the sounds coming from the dorm room next door. At first, the purple-haired girl rolled over to see what her clock said. Through bleary eyes, she could see that it was 4:35... A.M... she still had three hours before she went to meet Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu to hang out before class started, two-and-a-half before she even got up. What was anyone doing up at this hour?

Initially, the girl was going to try to go back to sleep, not really the type of person to bother others. However, as the noise continued, several bangs were soon heard, along with a few yelps, leading Mizore to believe that someone was in trouble. So, the girl quickly got up, dressed in her sleeping robes, stepped into a pair of slippers, and went out into the hallway to see what her neighbor was up to.

You can imagine her shock when she saw her gym teacher standing outside the door to her left. At first, she wondered just what he would be doing in the _girls' _dorm, let alone a student dormitory in general, considering teachers and other staff had other housing units. However, it was then that she noticed that, there was a medium sized cardboard box by his feet, and that the blonde was taping what appeared to be newspaper over the door frame.

Mizore cautiously and silently approached, slightly dubious of the bizarre sight. Idly, she wondered if this was just some strange dream, but then realized that she couldn't imagine this kind of stuff. Hesitantly, she called out to the young teacher. "Naru-..." before she could even finish, the blonde had moved as if made of lightning and covered her mouth to prevent her from making a sound.

Her eyes widened as she made contact with Naruto's own, fierce blue eyes. At seeing Mizore, Naruto's eyes quickly widened themselves and softened, before making a shushing motion and releasing her, returning to his work. The girl was hesitant, before she tried to ask Naruto what he was doing again, this time whispering.

"Naruto-sensei, what are you doing?" the blonde gave her a bashful look, but didn't stop his work, he had to time this just right.

"Long story, Shirayuki-chan. Having some trouble with a student who isn't coming to class. She basically challenged me to a pranking war, and whoever won would get their way. We have until Friday, and, so far, she has two up on me. But, yesterday, while she was probably gloating, I booby-trapped her room to make her morning hell." Naruto paused here, and then fixed the girl with an apologetic look. "Must have woken you up, huh? Sorry."

The girl brushed the apology off. "Don't worry about it." She then offered to help, which, after a bit of pondering on whether if it was fair or not, the blonde eagerly agreed. As the two continued to put up newspaper tight against the frame, Mizore wondered exactly what this would accomplish. She also wondered about how the blonde had gotten into her neighbor's room, but, after some thought, and the resulting blush from the over-exaggerated and unclean thoughts, decided against asking him.

The answer to the first question was quickly answered though, when Naruto revealed what was in the box. A punch of styrofoam packing-peanuts. The two soon moved unto stuffing the small pieces of styrofoam into the small gap they had left in the top of the newspaper wall. They soon ran out of the peanuts though. Too soon.

"Damnit," Naruto swore in a hushed voice, "I thought I had planned better than this and had more of these. If only we had something small and numerous like that." When he said that, Mizore started an internal debate. On one hand, she wanted to help her favorite teacher. On the other, it would require her to break school protocol, and, from what she had seen so far, it didn't look like Naruto exactly tolerated that. Eventually, though, she just decided to go for broke.

"Naruto-sensei," she began, in order to catch the teacher's attention, "I may be able to help." She could tell that got Naruto excited from the large grin on his face. Mizore then decided to quickly tell him what that would mean though. "However, that would mean that I would need to use my powers."

At hearing that, Naruto's mouth transformed from a large grin to a thin line of contemplation. He could understand enlisting help to pull pranks, after all, all's fair in love and war. But knowingly asking a student to intentionally breach protocol? That was another matter entirely. After a bit more thinking, Naruto asked a question. "If you use your powers, does that mean you would have to take your true form?" In the time that the blonde had been there, he had learned that some monsters could retain a few, albeit weaker, powers.

"No, I can do it in this form just fine." At hearing that, Naruto rubbed his chin and thought it over one more time. For all of three seconds.

"In that case, go for it."

"Okay, but I'll need some water."

As Mizore said that, Naruto reached back into the box and pulled out two plastic bottles full of water. "How much?" Mizore just gave him a blank stare and sweat-dropped.

/

Before all of this started, though, Yukari had been awoken by her alarm clock. On instinct, she sat up and pressed the button to turn it off. However, when she pressed the button, nothing happened. She tried again, and still the alarm refused to stop. Instead, it seemed to get... louder? The girl pressed it a few more times, and, sure enough, the alarm got louder each time.

It was then that Yukari noticed that she was tired, or, more so than she should be, at least. She also saw that the sun wasn't even out yet. The details began to form in her head, and as she looked at the time, it all came together. Naruto had messed with her alarm clock.

Now, had she not just woken up, Yukari's higher reasoning skills would have kicked in and had her realize that someone had somehow gotten into her room, which would freak her out a bit. Of course, she had just woken up, so that much couldn't be expected of her yet. Instead, she just glared at the clock and began fiddling with the buttons. However, every time, the volume either got louder, or the sound it was making would change. Eventually, Yukari ripped the batteries out of the clock, but when it still kept going on, she smashed it against the wall.

And now she was stuck being up at this ungodly hour. She knew that if she drifted back to sleep, there was no guarantee that she would awaken in time for class, since she had destroyed her alarm clock. So, she would have to keep track of time with the clock in the kitchen. All in all, a good prank, she would admit. She was still pissed, though.

If only she knew that it didn't stop there. Getting up, she approached her bedroom door. When she grabbed it though, she immediately became aware that she had grabbed something sticky. Looking down, she noticed honey covering the doorknob. Yukari scowled. This was quickly becoming insufferable.

She paid no more heed to the honey and ripped the door open. Perhaps she should have been more aware with what was going on, and expected more, but as it stood, Yukari was just too tired. That recklessness led her to walk right out of the room and into a veritable minefield of mousetraps. The girl yelped as she stepped right onto one, followed by another, and another, and another, before she just fell over and set off the rest of the traps.

Grumbling and all but seething with rage, Yukari continued to the kitchen. Might as well make herself a quick breakfast, after all. Besides, that blonde bastard couldn't have done much more, right? So, she proceeded into the room and flicked the light switch. The lights came on, but so did the ceiling fan. As the rotors spun, a white powder place on top of it got spread around the room, covering the walls, floors, and even some of Yukari, which resulted in a small, controlled shriek.

Annoyed that now her living area was covered in what she assumed was flour, Yukari continued on, paying no mind to the footprints she was leaving of the silhouette of cleanliness she left on the wall. First thing first, Yukari decided to wash the 'flour' off of her and the honey off her hand, she would get everything else later.

So it was with carelessness that Yukari turned the faucet to her sink, thinking that Naruto couldn't have done much with that. She apparently forgot about the magic clock and the fan. It was with that ignorance that came Yukari's fifth shock of the morning. It was almost instantly that the knob broke off in the girl's hand and a jet came shooting out straight at her, hitting her in the face and eliciting another yelp.

She put her hands in front of her to stop the liquid from hitting her in the face and burning her eyes. Dodging out of the way completely, Yukari noticed that in the place of the 'flour' was now foam, and that there was a sour taste in her mouth from the liquid. "Vinegar?" she voiced aloud. Her eyes widened as she heard a hissing behind her.

Quickly spinning around, she saw that anywhere the white powder had landed and met the vinegar, a bunch of bubbling foam quickly appeared. That helped the girl deduce that the 'flour' was actually baking soda. What's more, the jet of vinegar from her faucet had yet to cease. And to make matters worse, a knock sounded at her door just then.

"J-just a minute!" she shouted worriedly, not really paying attention. She needed to find a way to stop this mess immediately. She quickly went to fiddle with the sink and even looked under the cabinet at it, trying to find a way to stop it. Of course, she couldn't. As this went on and her dorm flooded with the smelling liquid, the knocking continued, further grating on the girl's nerves. Finally, she shouted out, "Wait a goddamn second!" It was at that moment that the stream finally sputtered out, causing the girl to let out a sigh of relief. Then, another knock.

In a fury, Yukari stomped to the door. She all but ripped it off its hinges. At this point, she wasn't even surprised as snow and foam packing peanuts came drifting into the room, adding to the mess already there and covering her partially. She shivered a bit as the white powder hit her, but her scowl remained as she glared at the newspaper barrier in front of her.

After spending a few more seconds staring, she ripped it down, revealing a grinning blonde bastard behind it. From her angle, she couldn't see Mizore,who Naruto had told to hide. Though, she could see Yukari. Despite herself, Mizore found herself chuckling at the girl's disheveled appearance, though thought it a bit wrong that she was so young.

"You," Yukari growled out. Naruto's grin just grew.

"Yeah, me. But, I have to say, you don't look so good. Rough morning?"

the girl bean to grind her teeth at the blonde's chuckle. "I'll get you back for this. Just you wait."

"That reminds me, the score is seven to two now, isn't it? Bet you didn't expect that, eh? After all, I'm just a gym teacher," Naruto said mockingly. Yukari trembled a bit, before she took a deep breath and calmly responded.

"I'll admit, I underestimated you. But mark my words, this is the last time you make a fool of me. Up until now has been nothing but child's play, and what you've done to me today, I'll get back at you ten-fold."

Naruto shrugged the threats off. "Meh, whatever. You want to play hardball, I'll only be too glad to oblige. Just remember, you brought this upon yourself. I'll be seeing you." and with that, Naruto walked away, flashing Mizore a grateful smile as he went by.

/

Yukari had remained true to her word, and had stepped her pranks up from there. They were both numerous and well put together, going so far as to being in layers. Naruto suspected that she even began using her powers, as he often found himself losing control of his body. He couldn't prove it, though. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to start using his jutsu.

In fact, the blonde had even gone so far as to start sending kage bunshin ahead of him whenever he entered a building. It had saved him more than a few times. And so, he had also increased the ferocity of his attack, aiming to humiliate her in more public settings. He had ceased enlisting the help of his students, though. He saw this more as a test of pride, now. He had a worthy opponent.

Of course, he was also becoming a bit fearful. The small girl had started to aim pranks at his weak spot, now. His balls. And for every ten times she tried, she managed to hit him at least once or twice. And this made him think. Were all children like this? If that was the case, Naruto was a bit cautious now about having them, granted, if he even could anymore.

But, more importantly, it was now Friday, and school was almost over. More importantly, the score were tied. This put Naruto on edge, as he was expecting anything to happen at any time. Glancing at the clock, Naruto dismissed his class early, something that confused all but two of his students. Mizore had told Tsukune, Moka, and even Kurumu about his bet with Yukari, as they had had experiences with her over the week.

They had tried to help her, to befriend her, but each time she ran away and hid, but not before humiliating them in the process. It was obvious that they didn't know how to deal with the brat, and Naruto didn't know how a person's mind worked, but he believed that his method was the best for getting the girl to open up.

It was as Naruto was thinking to himself that Tsukune approached him. "Hey, Naruto-sensei," the boy began, prompting Naruto to turn his head, "I'm a bit worried."

"'Bout what?" the blonde replied, only half listening.

"About Yukari-san. She hasn't played any tricks on us all day. I'm wondering if somethings wrong."

at that, Naruto gave Tsukune his full attention. Com e to think of it, he hadn't been targeted yet that day either. Something was wrong.. "Gather the gang," he said suddenly. "We're going to find her."

/

it was an hour before they got everyone together, and another before they got a lead on where Yukari might be. Naruto had personally gone to seek out her teacher and had discovered that the gang that had been harassing her when they first met her was at it again. He could tell the students were displeased with this when he told them, and went back to searching feverishly.

As the sun began to hang low in the sky, the group had searched most of the school. Naruto had even gone so far as to send out a few bunshin to scour the outer edges of the school. One of them eventually dispelled itself, transferring the information of Yukari's location to Naruto. The blonde quickly shared the information with his group and they started off in the general direction the girl was last seen in.

/

Yukari was walking down a dirt path, confident that she had escaped her pursuers. They may have been stronger than her and out-number her, but they weren't really organized and they were as stupid as could be. She had been able to easily lure them into a trap and get away. That reminded her, she still needed to get Naruto, as she had been too preoccupied the whole day to prank him. Her pride would not allow her to settle for a tie with someone she thought so inferior to her.

But was he really? She had passed that thought through her mind multiple times over the past week, but still couldn't settle on a consensus. On one hand, he had managed to match her prank for prank, and none of them were sloppily done like she would admit some of hers were. But she just couldn't fully admit that. The only person she really respected was Moka, because of her beauty and intelligence, but she seemed stuck on that plain-looking guy. Yukari would admit that Tsukune may seem nice, but... she just didn't know.

Yukari had let her guard down as she was thinking things over, something that let her stumble across the people she was trying to escape. The thing was, they didn't notice the young girl either. In fact, it took for the leader of the gang running into Yukari for any party to notice the other. The larger student, very nearly tripped over the small girl as she fell over backwards.

Everyone was shocked to see the other, but the gang, trying to save face despite the fact that no one else was around, all put on arrogant grins. "Well, well, well," began the leader, "What do we have here? A little girl who's lost her way? And what's this?" with that, the leader picked up the wand Yukari had dropped and was scrambling to get back.

"H-hey, that's mine," began Yukari. This was bad, she knew. Without her wand, she was virtually helpless. And that scared her, especially with the older students leering down at her.

"Oh, is it?" the boy said mockingly as he held the wand in a taunting manner. "I guess we were too stupid to realize that. Say, what would happen if we were to break it?" he asked, now holding it in both hands.

"N-no! Don't, please!" the small girl shouted as she reached forward for her wand.

"Well, because you said please," he said as he lowered the wand again. A look of relief washed over her face, but that was once again replaced by fear as the other two grabbed onto her. "But, how are you planning on repaying us for our generosity? We have a few ideas."

"Wh-what?" asked Yukari as the leader kept on approaching. She was looking for anyway to get out of this, desperation washing over her. She was in the middle of no where, defenseless, and she had a few ideas of what was about to happen to her, none of them pleasant.

"Don't worry. Just keep quiet and everything will go by that much quicker. Not like anyone can hear you anyway."

_'No,'_ she thought, everything seeming to go in slow motion. She was regretting straying so far from school just to play a trick on these guys. Right now she just wanted someone to save her. _'Please, anyone! Just don't let this happen!'_

apparently, someone was looking after her, as before the leader of the gang could take another step, a yell pierced the air and halted everything. "Hey! Stop that!" Everyone turned to look and saw five figures running up the deserted road. It soon became apparent that Tsukune was the one who had yelled, leading up the group, with Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore close behind and Naruto bringing up the rear.

"Crap, more distractions," said the leader, apparently either not knowing who Naruto was, how violent he could get, or was too stupid to care about either. "Looks like we gotta deal with 'em before we can have fun."

When Naruto's group got a little closer, Tsukune yelled out, "What do you think you're doing?" Naruto, however, knew exactly what was going on, seeing how they were holding the small, fearful girl. He scowled a bit, but couldn't help but feel good as hope and thankfulness shown in her eyes. At least he had made it before it was too late.

"That's really none of your business." Now, Tsukune was usually a level-headed individual that despised violence in all of its forms. He was a protector, and even then he wouldn't really fight back. However, seeing Yukari in the position she was in, and just being told that it was of no concern to him, that pushed the peaceful boy over the edge.

With a yell of rage, Tsukune shot forward, surprising everyone and eliciting yells as he struck the leader in the face with a punch. He went stumbling and inadvertently released the wand which went flying near the other group. Then, he hit the ground.

For a moment, everything was still, Tsukune just standing there, his fist still outstretched and a surprised look on his face at what he had done. Everything remained that way, until the leader sat up, holding his face and growling. "What are you waiting for?" he shouted, turning back to his gang, "Go get them1 show no mercy!"

And with that, the other two threw Yukari back, and they, with the leader, took on their monster forms. They all turned into lizard-like monsters, causing Naruto to narrow his eyes further. The leader then moved to reave Tsukune in half with his claws, who was still standing around looking like an idiot. Everyone started yelling as the claw descended.

It stopped, though, as the leader received a spring kick in the to the stomach, courtesy of Naruto, and went flying back. Naruto was faster, though, and appeared behind him, giving him an ax-kick and sending him into the ground. He was unconscious. From there, it was a trivial matter for him to do the same to the other two.

As he was standing over their forms, he looked over to Yukari. The small girl caught sight of his cold blue eyes, and shivered a bit as he approached her. Everyone else stayed back. On the way over, the blonde stopped and picked up the discarded wand. He continued on to the girl. As soon as he got close enough, he handed it to her first thing.

Yukari, slightly hesitant, took the wand and looked at Naruto gratefully. Then, the blonde's features softened. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so. You guys came just in time." There was a shared silence between the two, as they both chose that time to look at the sky. The sun was almost completely over the horizon.

"I guess the bet ends in a tie, huh?" Yukari nodded. "Well, I guess that's a fitting outcome. You were a good opponent, Yukari-san."

As he said that, Naruto extended his hand. Yukari looked at it strangely, but then took it in her own, discerning that nothing was wrong. She regretted it as a look came to Naruto's eye. The next thing she knew, an electric current was running through her, as Naruto used his limited knowledge of elemental manipulation to control his bodies own bio-electricity.

Naruto cut it after a few seconds, not wanting to injure the girl. "Guess I spoke too soon," he said with a grin on his face. "I win."

"H-how?" Yukari demanded. "How did you do that?"

"Sorry, trade secret," he said, releasing the girl's hand.

"You're really going to accept a win like that?"

At this, Naruto rubbed his chin and thought it over. Finally, he said, "Yes, I suppose I am. Now, let's talk about the terms of my victory."

"Yeah, fine," Yukari said, annoyed with her defeat. It fell within all previously laid conditions, as the sun had yet to fully disappear when he did get her. And she couldn't help but respect him for that, just like she now respected Tsukune for jumping in to save her. "I'll come to your class from now on."

"Oh, and who said that's what I was asking for?" Seeing Yukari's questioning look, Naruto reiterated., "If I recall correctly, you said the winner could have the loser comply with whatever demand they had. Isn't that right?"

Hearing that, Yukari growled, thinking that the blonde was about to make the whole situation a lot more complicated now. "Fine, What do you want?"

Hearing his request surprised her. "I want you to apologize and start hanging out with those guys over there," he said, indicating over his shoulder to Tsukune and his friends. "All week, you've been abusing them, and they've only wanted to help you. You're gonna start treating them right."

Yukari just stared incredulously for a few seconds, along with everyone else when they heard his request. It was in a humbled voice that Yukari said, "Okay."

"Good. Now I hope to hear you get along. In the mean time," here, Naruto created a few clones and picked up the unconscious students, "I'll look after these guys. Behave now." and with that, he and his clones began to walk away.

Looking down at her feet as the other group approached her, Yukari said a quiet, "Thank you," and then smiled, along with the rest of the group. Unseen to everyone else, so did Naruto.

/

and there you have it! A long ass chapter, the likes of which probably won't bee seen for a while. As you can see, I had to cut down in a few places to keep the length reasonable. Now, as for why it took so long... well, I made most of this up while writing, and didn't really know where I was going until it got there. I hope that it's passable, and you'll forgive me for the wait. Also, this is not beta'd, as I couldn't seem to get in touch with Lykaos, and I need to get working on school work and can't wait for this.

In other news, who's read the most recent chapter of Rosario+Vampire? Just so I don't spoil it for anyone, all I'll say is hell yeah! I can't wait till next month's chapter to see where this goes. And speaking of manga, it's time for a random rant. Something that has nothing to do with this story. Something about Bleach.

I started reading Bleach about three years ago, and stopped right after the Soul Society Ark. No reason, really, just sorta stopped. Last month, I picked it back up again, and finished all 200 some chapters three weeks ago, and I have a few questions about this whole thing. First off, how do you just do that? Yeah, I understand that Ichigo defeated Aizen and *spoiler* and you can't really go on from that, but it left a lot of loose ends. One, what the fuck happened to the vizards? Last I saw of them, Unohana was saying Hiyori might not live. How did Wonderwiess defeat Kensei and what happened to him? Then what happened to the remaining arrancar? Hell, I could be wrong about this, but to me, it didn't look like Yammy was dead. Then, Gin *spoiler* and Yamamoto blows himself up, and only loses an arm? What the fuck? Now Karin's fucking *spoiler* Ichigo seems all but useless, for some reason Inoue stopped wearing her hairpins, and Chad has yet to be seen! To top it all off, Aizen's still alive! Also, what's the deal with Ichigo's job?

I know some of that didn't make sense, and I did censor some of the more important stuff out, but I feel very strongly about this. Obviously. Anyway, this chapter's long enough, so I'll end it here. This has been a chapter by your fellow author, Acolyte of Truth, totaling 10,826 words!


	7. Calls of the Past

Hey guys. Been a while for all of my fans. Truthfully, I was contemplating on letting you all think I was dead, but realized that it would be unfair. More of an explination is at the end, not that you care, but let's just get this over with. Also, this is not beta'd

/

Disclaimer: Fuck off.

/

Chapter 7: Calls of the Past

A.K.A.: The Obligatory Flashback Episode

It was Saturday morning. However as Naruto woke up in his bed and let his eyes adjust to the early morning light filtering in through a near-by window, his first thoughts weren't about how he had the day off or about how comfortable he was at that moment. Nor was he thinking about the good deeds that he had done the day previous. No, what was currently on the blonde's mind was his daily meeting with Shizuka.

It was strange, but he really found himself becoming close with the older woman. While it was true that she was technically a monster, he didn't really see her as such. In fact, at times she seemed to act more like a child than the mature role model she probably should have been. But, that's what Naruto liked about her. She wasn't afraid to be her own person, and it reminded him a bit of himself. Of course, that meant she was fun to hang out with.

The other guys were fun to hang out with as well, even if he mostly shadowed them and helped out with the occasional problem they had. They were also fun to torment, though he hadn't had much of a chance to do it. Tsukune and Moka were good people, really friendly, and easy to embarrass, which was always a plus in Naruto's book. Kurumu also seemed to be a good person at heart, despite first impressions. She could also be really clever if it meant it would help her friends.

Then, there was Mizore. She was definitely a different type of girl, who still hadn't fully come out of her shell, if Naruto's observations were correct. She was usually quiet and mostly went with the flow, but spoke her opinion when it really mattered to her new friends. He would have to get her to open up more at a later date. But, besides that, he got this special kind of feeling from her, and she obviously looked up to him in some way. It sort of gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Shaking himself of those feelings for now, Naruto thought back to the remaining member of the ever expanding group of friends. More recently, Yukari had entered the picture. Yes, she was a bit of a brat at times, and had a small superiority complex since she was one of the smartest people in the whole school, but that was just part of her character. The blonde had a feeling that after the events that had transpired yesterday that the girl would become more tolerable. Besides, that little prank war had brought back good memories.

Of course, thinking about his childhood led the blonde to turn his thoughts to his friends back home in Konoha, wondering just what they were doing at the moment. Tsunade was probably slumped over at her desk, papers strewn all over the office, as she tried to sleep off a hangover. The blonde also imagined Shizune there trying to find the Hokage's stash of sake and get rid of it.

It being the weekend, team 8 was probably training together for old times sake, even though both Shino and Kiba had teams and Hinata was teaching at the academy. As for team 10, Shikamaru and Chouji could be expected to be relaxing in some tranquil area, looking up at the clouds while Ino attempted to find them so they, too, could all train together.

Tenten, Neji, and Lee could be easily seen following team 8's lead, though they most likely also involved their own individual teams in the training. Iruka, without a doubt, was out training to keep himself in shape, before he went off to the ramen stand where the two had shared some good memories.

Then, there was his old team. Kakashi was probably reading his erotic novels, granted, if he wasn't still asleep, before going off to torment the other members of Naruto's old team. Sai, having been promoted to an actual ANBU agent, was likely on a mission at the moment. The blonde could easily see Sakura working at the hospital, working to get other shinobi into tip-top shape before returning to the field. Finally, there was Sasuke.

Admittedly, Naruto no longer knew what to think of the boy who once was, and possibly still was, his best friend. It was only a few months ago that the raven-haired boy had hated him with a passion and would have given anything to kill both him and everyone in his village. And it was during the all out war with Akatsuki that the youngest of the two remaining Uchiha had his chance.

/flashback/

An explosion rocks the earth, as in a nearby mountain range, a veritable geyser of dust and stone shot violently from the ground, leaving behind a rather large crater. Nearby, perhaps two miles away, the sounds of fierce battle could be heard, doubtlessly the sounds of struggle of the Joint Shinobi Army against the Akatsuki's undead forces. It was soon drowned out as the rubble lost its momentum and fell back down to the earth in a hazardous rain.

For a moment afterwards, the sounds of distant battle once again came into prominence, as the dust once again settled across the ground. When the mysterious explosion finally seemed over and done with, a hand, like one would expect to see in a horror movie, burst forth from the center of the crater, grasping desperately for something so its owner could continue upwards. When they finally got a good grip on the ground, the rubble shifted more as the person pulled themselves further up from the makeshift tomb, revealing a familiar blonde coated in a thick layer of dirt.

Naruto gasped for air, eyes squinted shut, as he fully pulled himself out of the ground. As soon as the boy was completely free form the earth's grasp, he flipped over onto his back and tried to regain his bearings, playing everything that had just happened through his mind.

In short, the Akatsuki had managed to catch him off guard while fighting on the front lines, much to the opposition to most of the Joint Shinobi Army, and subdued the blonde before bringing him to their base to extract the Kyuubi. For days Naruto had suffered intense pain and torture, much like he assumed Bee had days before him, as the terrorist organization came closer and closer to completely separating him and the Kyuubi.

And they probably would have succeeded, too, if Kabuto hadn't chosen that moment to betray Madara by using the Uchiha's deceased underlings against him and his, for lack of a better term, loyalists. The massive slip in the concentration of chakra in the ceremony allowed Naruto enough control to call upon the remainder of his bijuu's youkai and create a massive explosion, resulting in the antechamber's collapse and allowing him to escape.

Which led to Naruto's current situation, his breathing gently slowing as he gazed up at the sky. Then, slowly, a smile split his face, and the boy began to laugh. He had done it. He had defeated the Akatsuki. They were all probably crushed under some many odd tonnes of rock and stone. It was very nearly over.

However, the smile soon turned bittersweet, as the blonde inevitably thought back to Sasuke. True, he had since come to terms that the only way to stop the boy from destroying everything he loved was to neutralize him, but still, Naruto couldn't help but think that there may have been some other way. He didn't deserve to be crushed to death, regardless.

However, that thought quickly disappeared, eyes wide as he shot up from his position on the ground as it began to shake violently underneath him. The sense of impending doom increasing, Naruto quickly sprang from his spot, just as the ground once again exploded, right where he was a moment before.

Slightly caught be the shock wave of power that caused the eruption, the blonde rolled across the hard, unforgiving ground before bouncing up to his feet, crouching low and facing where he once stood, preparing to move at any moment. The thick smoke obstructed his view of his new enemy, but he could still feel the malevolent power. Bringing his arms closer to his body for protection, Naruto steeled himself.

As the dust once again cleared, Naruto caught a glimpse of what was no doubt Susanoo, before, in a violent rush of wind, receded back into its user, effectively clearing the dust and revealing Sasuke, looking rather pissed if the scowl on his face was anything to go by. He had his Sharingan activated, though it wasn't in its Mangekkyou form, probably due to all of the energy the Uchiha had exhausted in the last week, what with the battle with Bee he had before capturing him and sealing his Bijuu, and the near sealing of his own.

Thinking back on that last one, Naruto tired to summon up some of the Kyuubi's chakra again, but failed to feel any of it. It must have been a temporary after effect of having so much taken from him. He could probably still use his sage chakra if he needed to, but, other than that, it looked like neither boy would be fighting at full capacity.

It appeared that Sasuke also realized this, as he soon gave a smirk and settled into a similar position. "Look's like this wont be the grand showdown we expected, eh, dobe?" Despite the familiarity with which the raven-haired boy spoke, his voice was cold and distant, causing another bittersweet smile to show on the blonde's face.

"I guess so." Naruto's eyes shown with sadness, knowing that the only way this would end would be with one or both of them dying. That in mind, the blonde reached for a kunai, only to realize that all of his weapons had been stripped from him before the Akatsuki started the extraction process. He was, surprised, though, when one was languidly thrown at him, allowing Naruto to catch it easily enough.

Looking up in confusion, he saw Sasuke spin another in his fingers before gripping it tightly, his blade apparently lost in his escape. Seeing that his rival was looking for some kind of explanation, the Uchiha shrugged. "You're at enough of a disadvantage as it is," he said cockily, "might as well try to even the odds." Naruto wasn't sure Sasuke even believed that himself, but was thankful, both for the fact that he was making the effort to have a good final battle, and because it reminded the blonde of when they were both on Team 7.

Banishing the thoughts, Naruto set his face in stone, much like Sasuke had, and got ready to start the battle at a moments notice. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do what was necessary if he kept thinking back to such a simpler time. Then, as if by communicating via telepathy, both teens shot forward at one another.

It was as if they were preforming an intricate and deadly dance. Each one blocked the other, blow for blow, slash for slash, neither one gaining or losing ground. If one was knocked back, they would quickly recover and go back to fighting, their enemy having the not so common courtesy of allowing an extremely brief recovery.

The two didn't know how long this went on for, but they wanted to prolong it for as long as possible. They perceived this to be their last moments together, and wanted to enjoy them, something understood through a mutual respect held onto through the years. Even Sasuke, cold and bitter, at war with his and his clans fate, never completely lost his respect for the blonde haired boy.

However, it was this respect that also let both boys know that they would have to go full out, both to defend their own goals and beliefs, and because doing otherwise would be a disservice to the other in their final hour.

Gradually, the movement of battle sped up, both teens growing more fierce, unleashing more of their currently limited power upon the other, letting themselves be consumed fully by the heat of battle. It wasn't long until the fighters were merely a blur to the untrained eye, and even most shinobi would be strained to fully keep track of such a battle.

Before long, there was a temporary pause in combat, allowing both rivals to momentarily take stock of both themselves and each other. Besides being a bit ruffed-up from the cave-in, Sasuke was fine, just a small scratch on his hand wielding his kunai and a still forming bruise on his cheek. His sharingan had allowed for the raven-haired youth to avoid most of Naruto's attacks.

The blonde, though, had no such advantage. The Uchiha had managed to land numerous body blows that left his target slightly short of breath, as well as several cuts, including a small one on his free arm and a larger one on his face, just below his right eye, both still oozing blood. And that truthfully worried Naruto a bit. Normally, the Kyuubi would heal such trivial wounds in mere moments, usually in under a minute. That was basic. Now, however, the bijuu was silent, so to speak, doing nothing to mend the, be they miniscule, wounds.

Naruto worked to keep the unease from his face, but knew that it wouldn't take long for his rival to notice something was off. He would have to keep the boy distracted, falling back on his charisma and superior social skills in order to keep the defector from gaining morale. To help ensure his victory and his village's safety. In other words, Naruto was going to have to bullshit his way through this.

The blonde put on a cocky grin as he regarded his rival, knowing that what he was about to do wasn't quite considered fair play, but also knowing that his goal was so much more important. "Well now, isn't this fun? Just you and me, two life long rivals finally pitting themselves against one another once and for all."

Naruto paused to chuckle here, idly noticing as Sasuke furrowed his brow, figuring that the blonde was up to something, but not entirely sure what. Knowing that he was just giving Naruto time while he simply stood there, the Uchiha charged back at him, Naruto only barely getting his defenses back up in time.

Blue eyes widened, but the grin remained in place as he pushed back against Sasuke's kunai with his own. "See, both of us putting so much into this to achieve something? It's thrilling."

Sasuke jumped back and did a flourish with his blade, twirling it between his fingers and reaffirming his grip before lunging back at his rival, thrusting the kunai at him. The blonde laughed as he barely dodged the strikes, some lightly grazing him, but not bothering him as he worked out what to say next. When he next got a brief reprieve, Naruto spoke.

"But, as much as you are putting into this, I can't help but think you're not giving your all." Sasuke eyed the blonde again, wondering just what he was getting at. Hell, why was he even still talking? If there was anyone who wasn't giving their all, it was him! "After all, I at least expected to see your famed Mangekkyou. Why aren't you using that?" He noticed Sasuke begin to shake as he looked down, hair covering his eyes, rage no doubt building. Naruto knew that now was the time to do or die. "Why aren't you using it? You still can, right? Or are you just being cocky? No, I don't think so. You're just too tired, right? Wow, that's kind of a disappointment."

"Shut up!" and that was it, the flood gates broke. When Sasuke snapped his head back up, the Mangekkyou was visible. That was good. Naruto's plan relied wholly on getting Sasuke to activate the mutated sharingan, and then just bide his time, hoping the boy would run out of chakra before he did. Of course, the whole plan hinged on the fact that Sasuke didn't have enough chakra to use any of his jutsu, otherwise he was fucked. "How dare you mock me now of all times? And what about you, saying I'm not taking this seriously? You can barely stand! Where's your sage mode; where's the Kyuubi? I'll make sure you're never a nuisance again!"

coating his kunai in lightning chakra, Sasuke hurled it at Naruto, who acted on instinct and jumped high into the air, throwing his own kunai before putting his hands together and mustering up a meager amount of his chakra, bringing into existence a few clones which he would use to distract the boy. Unknown to him, though, he was sweating heavily now and panting, using more chakra than he thought.

Things were about to get worse, as Sasuke seemed to predict the blonde's moves, and apparently was angered by it. "Don't insult me! Amaterasu!" And there was something the blonde had feared. The fierce black flames streaking towards him. And in mid-air, there was little he could do.

"Shit," he hissed out, bringing his hands together once again to preform another jutsu. "Kawarimi no Jutsu!" It didn't even take a full second for Naruto to realize nothing was happening, and it was then that he noticed just how drained he was. He quickly came to the conclusion that either there was nothing near enough to swap with or it was too big. A bittersweet smile slowly came to his face, believing that this was the end.

_'Heh, looks like this is it,'_ he thought, crossing his arms in front of his face as the heat intensified and the flames got closer. _' I guess I'll finally get to see that damned pervert again, and maybe even mom will be their. And since the rest of the bastard fox is bound to me, Madara can't complete his goals.'_ It didn't seem to occur to Naruto that because the Kyuubi was bound to him that he may also be denied comfort with his loved ones.

"I guess I just wished that I could have saved everyone." And with that, a lone tear ran down Naruto's cheek, as clones began dispelling from the sheer heat of the ever approaching fire. Expecting death, Naruto was a bit surprised to instead be met by a blinding white light, a scream he recognized as Sasuke's and the hard ground rushing up to meet him. His landing left him out of breath as he wearily looked up to see what happened.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, don't go getting ahead of yourself." a grimace came to the blonde's face, as he recognized the voice. Slowly turning his head, he saw Madara, looking just as ragged as him and Sasuke and missing the top-right portion of his mask, giving an uninterrupted view of his Sharingan eye. "After all, the boy is still of some use to us."

Screaming brought Naruto's attention back to Sasuke, as he noticed the boy laying on the ground grasping at his face, specifically his left eye as blood ran down between his fingers. "Wh-what did you dd?" the boy cried out, hysterical. Madara just furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"I didn't do anything. If something happened to you, you can blame that... pest over there." Madara waved arbitrarily in Naruto's direction, the blonde still looking for the strength to get up, confused by the statement. Unfortunately, he could do nothing as he noticed Madara approaching him and even Sasuke eying him with his good eye. "Now, help me get him back to what's left of the cave. We can still-..." the thought wasn't able to be finished.

"Why?" the one word question caused Madara to turn a bored gaze to Sasuke as he stood back up wearily, still holding his eye. "Why are you interrupting us?"

"Why? Because I can't have you destroying the last piece to my puzzle. Or have you forgotten about all the work put into my plan; what you captured the Hachibi for; what, until recently, we spent nearly a week holed up in a cave for? I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to allow all that to go to waste, now come on."

Madara only went a few feet before once again being stopped in his tracks. "No, get out of my way and let me finish this."

"Excuse me?" Madara's eye was narrowing dangerously, but Sasuke wasn't giving in.

"I said move, or your next."

"Boy, I would remind you to remember who you're dealing with." He was now fully facing Sasuke, leaving his back exposed, not that Naruto could do anything. However, it did give him time to concentrate and build up his sage chakra for if and when he needed it.

"All I see is a burnt out husk of a delusional old man who refuses to know his place." It would appear as if dementia had fully grasped Sasuke, making him forget just how outclassed he was in his current state. The Uchiha patriarch just chuckled though, seeing just how far his last remaining relative had fallen.

"Impudent brat, don't you see, he wants you to kill him." Met with stares of confusion, Madara continued, playing further off Sasuke's fractured mind. "The boy knows that with himself gone, we cannot obtain the Kyuubi, not for some time, at least, which would ruin our plans. You would just play right into their hand, become Konoha's ultimate puppet, just like Itachi was years before, and destroy thew Uchihas' aspiration. You don't want that, do you?"

Just as he was about to turn back to Naruto, Madara was once again stopped by Sasuke. "What's with all this crap about 'our plan' and the 'Uchihas' aspiration'? Last time I checked, you're the only one who wanted any of this! I just want revenge for our clan!"

"And so do I! Don't you see, this will reclaim the respect the name Uchiha deserves; reaffirm our place in the world. We will get your revenge, and so much more!"

"You mean regain respect for the name you dragged through the mud in the first place?" It seemed that was the fact that Sasuke was caught up on.

"Watch your tongue, _boy_." It was obvious from his tone that Madara had just about had it with Sasuke's insubordination. "I have my reasons for what I did. It isn't my fault that those fools couldn't see my greatness; the untapped potential the clan had. But I'll fix it now. I will make the Uchihas the rulers of the world."

"You'll make yourself the ruler of the world. Face it, you never cared about the clan, only your own selfish ideals." It was clear from his trembling just how indignant Sasuke was about the whole issue. "For all the love you state you have for the clan, it's obvious you despise them for turning on you. But I think it's clear why they did that. You never cared about them, only yourself."

"Damnit kid, stop arguing and wasting time! Don't you see you're acting just as Itachi did, defending Konoha against the greatness of the Uchiha. You're acting as their puppet!"

"No," it was then silent for a moment, as Sasuke finally seemed to realize what Konoha really was to him. "That pisshole may have held me back, but not once was I their puppet, unlike how I am with you every waking moment. Your betrayal left a stain upon our clan, and lead to the village to distrust us. And when they started acting just like you, the village defended its interests. Hell, maybe they were right in doing so." Sasuke chuckled a bit as he looked to Naruto, noticing that the blonde was eying him with wonder, pride, and kindness. "I was even beginning to grow happy their. And that's because it is my home. And I'll die before I let you destroy it for your megalomaniac tendencies."

It was once again quiet for a moment, before a low, dark laughter escaped Madara, fully consuming him. Then, it just suddenly stopped, as he viciously eyed his family member. "And just how do you propose to stop me?"

When next Sasuke looked up, his eye had shifted again, forming his Sharingan's ultimate form. The Eternal Mangekkyou. Seeing this, Naruto could feel his breath catch in his throat and his heat stop, as cold realization washed over him. "No," the blonde said weakly to himself. "He doesn't have enough strength. He'll kill himself."

This though seemed to occur to the younger Uchiha as well, as he spoke to Naruto, not looking at him as miniscule rips formed in the air and the wind began to shift erratically, signs that reality was unweaving around that point. "Looks like we never will find out who was better, Naruto. But this has taught me one thing." Sasuke's voice was solemn, and his last words came out warbled just as a giant vortex opened in space and dragged a shocked Madara in kicking and screaming, followed shortly by the one who caused it. "You were right; I'm lucky to have called you my brother."

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out as the portal finished closing around the two and they vanished, presumably forever. Despite every fiber of his being protesting against it, the blonde struggled to get up, shaking violently as he did so, sweat pouring profusely from his pores. "Come on! Come on!" He forced himself to stand on unsteady feet, and still wasn't up completely, as he shuffled to where Sasuke was previously, not really knowing what he was going to do when he got there, but continuing on nonetheless.

After only a few steps though, he fell, not even able to through his arms out to catch himself he was so tired. Tears began to stream out of the blonde's eyes as he looked forwards, sobs wracking his body as he thought of how useless he was in his own eyes. His friend had sacrificed himself for a cause that wasn't even his own, but Naruto's. And he wasn't even able to crawl to his last position. No, he wasn't going to let it end there!

Squirming along the ground, his approach was once again underway, though drastically slowed. He did eventually get there, however, and when he did, he began weakly pounding on the ground, thinking that it may somehow open up the portal again and give Sasuke back. It was then that he truly understood the brilliance of the boy's final act.

Theoretically, the place where Sasuke's Mangekkyou brought him was different than Madara's because his eyes were different. Also, Madara could also only teleport between his own realm and the last realm he was in, so, if he killed Sasuke, he wouldn't be able to get back to the 'real' world. Sure, it was all theory, but it was a worthy one, and it helped Naruto to feel better about Sasuke's sacrifice, even only just a bit.

Then for a while, the blonde just lay there, tears of sorrow still rolling down his face as he conserved energy to get back to the battlefield and his allies. Consciously, he began to gather sage chakra again, knowing that he would need it if he wished to move anywhere in the next week. Slowly, the edges of Naruto's eyes began to grow darker with orange pigment, and the eyes themselves turned golden with horizontal pupils.

A few minutes after the transformation completed, the blonde slowly got to his feet and began to walk away, muscles still strained, not looking back as he somberly carried on to the edge of the plateau. Midway there, though, Naruto did look back, shedding one last tear for his forgotten friend. "So long, Sasuke." He then began his walk again, but paused as he felt a gust of wind behind him and something thumping onto the ground.

Slowly, almost unable to believe what he was seeing, the blonde turned back around, seeing none other than the boy he thought gone forever at the spot he just was, panting and on his knees, clutching the stump that was his arm in an attempt to ebb the blood pooling out from the wound. Almost too shocked to move, it wasn't until Sasuke pitch face first into the ground that the blonde acted, running quickly to his friend's side.

"Sasuke!" Moving swiftly yet being careful not to disturb the Uchiha's wounds too much, the blonde lifted the boy up, holding pressure on what remained of his right arm as he moved quickly from the plateau to a field hospital located hopefully nearby. "Don't worry Sasuke. I'll get you help. You'll survive."

/flashback_end/

Naruto was suddenly broken from his musings, realizing that he should probably get going after taking a quick glance at his clock. It was only six, and unlikely that anyone else would be up for another few hours if they didn't have to. So, while it meant that he couldn't yet meet with Shizuka or torment his students (well, he could actually, but that's besides the point), it did mean that it was the perfect time to train.

As he left the room, he did think back to the fate of Sasuke. The field medics were able to save him, though without his arm, they had no way of helping him, not to mention that they had no idea about what happened to his eye. When the fighting was finally over and done with, there was a trial held against the Uchiha for crimes against the villages of Konoha and Kumo, as well as the whole of the Joint Shinobi forces in general. The boy pleaded guilty to all charges unflinchingly and was carried away to serve out his years in a maximum security prison with no protest, refusing to accept any visitors.

As for Naruto, he hadn't had any contact with the Kyuubi since, something that he was just fine with, but promised himself that he would look into it at a later time. Hell, maybe today would be that day. Doubtful, but he had plenty of time to kill.

/

so yeah, this probably wasn't what you were expecting, and I know I could have done better after nearly two months of absence, but here's the thing: I started this on March 5 and got about half way through, but than I just got so tired with... well, everything. These past few weeks, I've been pretty much catatonic. I've done little more than go to school, go to work, and sleep. It's not that the work's hard or anything, I'm just tired with it all. And I was thinking about just leaving this and playing dead until I finally got back the strength to write again. But than I found a review from one Kel'thuzad The Summoner the I found buried under everything. I won't go into specifics, but it basically announced such respect for this story that it reaffirmed my determination to get this done, because I now realize, while I started doing this purely for myself, I've begun to also write for those few who truly derive some sort of joy form my writings, even if I fear I may have let them down.

So, thank him for allowing me to get this out at all. Also, saying that, I must now inform you that all my stories are going on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time. I assure that ill be back within six months, and if you're lucky I'll figure this out sooner rather than later, but I just need to take a step back for a while and reevaluate my life. Sorry for the inconvenience. That being said, this was 5,499 words long.


	8. A Relaxing Day

Chapter 8: A Relaxing Day

Naruto was being diligent in his training, having left his housing accommodations early that morning, dressed in a simple white tank-top and some slacks, a piece of cloth tied around his head to keep his hair out of his eyes, not wanting to use his shinobi headband. Having slacked off for the better part of three weeks, the youthful educator couldn't really afford to ease into this relatively cozy life. Or didn't want to, in any event. After all, what would happen if he lost his edge and couldn't uphold the academy's code of conduct against a superior foe? Even more likely, when this mission was complete and he returned home, would he still deserve his jounin rank after months of not even bothering to better himself?

In Naruto's opinion, he knew that it would be an affront delivered by himself if he chose to keep the rank, and wouldn't be able to live with that, so he decided to rid away the trouble involved with that and just start dedicating some of his free time to training his arse off.

Of course, the prospect of actually seeing the end of this particular assignment was becoming... unsavoury, to say the least. Granted, when initially told about the mission, the blond had to be physically dragged onto the bus (for he had since learned what it was called) that took him here, believing that he would be forced to deal with insipid and obstinate brats who didn't respect his authority. And while there were outliers that were like that, a vast majority of students and even staff respected him.

Even then, most of those people were inconsequential, because he had more importantly made friends, and the very knowledge that he would have to leave them all, the fact that he may very well never see any of them again when this year was over, disheartened Naruto. He could easily ask for an extension of the mission, being able to see Mizore and Tsukune and everyone else through to the end of their stay at Youkai academy, but even then they would only be together for three years, and the blond would only be successful at prolonging the inevitable.

And then there was Shizuka, who was a different matter entirely. Unlike him, she was an educator with a licence, and would undoubtedly continue teaching after he was gone, which made him worry about what she would think if he left with the students. Would she think that he held them above her in importance? That with them gone, he had no reason to stay?

With a shake of the head, he banished those thoughts. No, she knew that he was only a temporary replacement for the physical education instructor, and was subject to leaving after a more permanent replacement was found. Hell, they all knew that they would be separated eventually, but unlike him, they weren't worrying about it, they were busy having fun together, making memories to look back on when they were apart, to be able to remember the good times. If he kept this up, Naruto would be remembered as no more than the always frowning mentor,m worrying about one thing or another.

He didn't want that. He would be remembered as their friend who would always help them out of serious jams, even if he liked poking fun at them. And he wouldn't worry about what may happen un the future. That goal in mind, a small smile formed on his face as his focus came back to training, repeating aloud his mantra, which consisted of little more than commentary of what he was doing.

"Left jab, right jab, left jab, left jab, right hook, sweep, uppercut, right kick, back-flip, left straight, roundhouse, high kick left," he continued on in this pattern, only alternating sides each time through when applicable, so starting with a right jab instead. This went on for some time, before the blond ended on, "and breathe," inhaling deeply as he did so as he slowed his heartbeat, sweat dripping from his brow.

Once finished, he faced his opponent and simply smiled. "Hey, thanks for the help," he said, patting the tree he was previously beating on. "I mean, I know you're just a tree, and a dead one, no less, and you didn't exactly have a voice in the matter, but that aside, thanks for the cooperation."

The blond's hand passed over the chipped, jagged bark, idly rubbing the rough edges, before giving it one last smack with his palm as he would the back of an old pal before nodding and saying a quick farewell, walking back to his residence. The boy reckoned it was a bit passed seven-thirty, and that he had plenty of time to take a shower and then be off to make many a humorous memory with his students, even if he would prefer to not be in the public eye with them. After all, it wouldn't do well to be accused of playing favorites.

(Half-an-hour Later):

After having left his residence, now clean and dressed in more leisurely clothes consisting of a loose, button-up blue shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and another pair of black slacks, along with flip-flops, of all things, the blond stalked off in search of his prey... students, he thought, grinning at the slight mental hiccup, as he shoved his hands into his pockets, continuing down the dirt path he was on and paying little mind to the grave-markers at the side of the road, having learned to ignore them after a few days.

Idly, Naruto looked up to the sky, noting the blue, general lack of clouds, and the sun that was just visible off to the right. It was nice. Hell, it was peaceful even, surprising, giving the contrast of his immediate surroundings. On the ground, most everything barring the people was dead, but the sky was lively, even if it was lazily so, stray clouds just floating on, the sun gently rising. It was nice.

Closing his eyes, the young teacher just sort of absorbed the calming atmosphere. It was warm out, and the gentle breeze was nice, rustling his clothing a bit, making a light and hollow whistle through the trees. The path was uneven and nearly caused Naruto to stumble a few times. Also, it may have been paranoia, but he swore that he could feel someone or something watching him.

Opening his eyes, the blond realised that the morning wasn't as calming as he had originally thought. But still, it could have been worse, given what he had previously dealt with in live. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Where was he to find those kids?

In a single leap, Naruto took to the trees, landing nimbly and without disturbing the branch he landed on, before moving across the treetops, staying out of sight of most people, since they wouldn't bother looking up.

After a few minutes, he came upon Tsukune and Moka walking by themselves, apparently unaware of their surroundings, caught up in themselves. It caused Naruto to see them as prime targets, as he came up with a devilish, if not simple idea, causing him to put on a smile to match.

Without drawing attention to himself, the blond maneuvered to a tree just ahead of the duo. Sitting down on the branch he was on, Naruto waited for their approach, counting down mentally before he fell back, hanging onto the branch with his legs, and appearing right in the middle of their path, simply saying, "Boo," as he hung before them.

It got the desired effect of both Tsukune and Moka giving a little yelp and holding onto each other in fear as they regarded Naruto, causing him to give a deep belly laugh. Finally understanding that they were not in danger, and feeling quite embarrassed and indignant over what just transpired, they confronted the teacher.

"S-Sensei!" stuttered out Tsukune, visibly flustered, "Why would you do that?"

"Sorry, sorry, but the opportunity was too good to pass up," the blond paused his laughter to say, a wide grin plastered to his face. He began chuckling again as he said, "Your reactions were priceless."

"Still, it wasn't very nice," said Moka, crossing her arms, trying and failing to look disgruntled.

As he swung down from the tree in front of them, his only response was, "Yeah, yeah, I apologised already. So, where are you headed at this hour in the morning? Where's Mizore?"

"Right here, sensei," said a quiet voice, though it still cause everyone to jump since they didn't expect it. Quickly tuning on his heel, Naruto spun around and saw said girl poking her head around the tree he was just in, a neutral, yet slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"

"No, no, no!" replied Naruto quickly, making wild gestures and trying to save face. "You surprised me," he revised, taking Mizore's mostly blank look as one of calling him out. "A little," he finally admitted, abashed.

"I'm sorry," she tried to say, though the blond wouldn't have any of it.

"It's fine; I deserve it for not being more perceptive. Come over here."

Being waved over, Mizore emerged fully from behind the tree and walked slowly to the group, being greeted by Moka and Tsukune and waving to them in turn. When they all stood in front of him, Naruto noticed that the shy girl was trying not to look at him, and thinking she still felt bad for startling him. And, while it was partly true, it was also because she didn't want to be caught staring at him and blushing.

For the moment, Naruto wrote it off as something to take care of later, but decided to get back to his original question first. "Anyway, where are Kurumu and Yukari?"

"We were just on our way to meet them actually," said Tsukune, causing a smile to light up his face. Then, turning, he began leading the group down the path.

Of course, this caused Moka to whisper to her friends, "Does he even know where we're meeting them?" prompting Mizore and Tsukune to shrug.

(Five Minutes Later):

Before long, Naruto triumphantly admitted that he hadn't the foggiest idea of where they were going, causing Moka and Tsukune to look upon him hopelessly, coming to the conclusion that the blond didn't think things through, though causing Mizore to giggle slightly, thinking that it just added to his other good qualities. In any event, the teacher took up a position behind the others as they lead him to where they were meeting.

The group eventually came upon Kurumu and Yukari after a brief trek through the woods, both looking quite bored as the former was found leaning up against a tree, looking to the sky and the latter occupied herself by drawing circles in the dirt with a stick. As they approached, the blond couldn't help but think that his surroundings looked familiar, but attributed it to the fact that all the trees on the campus looked the same to him.

As for the two girls, they perked up immediately once they noticed that the others were there. "What took you guys? I lead Yukari-chan here at least ten minutes ago, and even that was several minutes after the designated meeting time, which you decided. What happened?" Kurumu was, appropriately, annoyed.

"Sorry, Kurumu-chan, we kind of got side-tracked by running into Naruto-sensei here," replied Tsukune nervously, indicating to said teacher, who gave an indignant response.

"Hey, don't try to pin this all on me!"

The boy was about to propose his rebuttal that Naruto had lead them in circles for five minutes, but was caught in a flying hug around the neck by Yukari, effectively silencing him and nearly sending him face-first into the dirt, though he retained his balance somehow. The young girl was squealing about how glad she was that he was here, and still thanking him for stepping in to defend her the other day (even though Naruto was the one who did away with the thugs, Tsukune had just stepped in first and nearly got his ass handed to him before the blond took over, though he didn't mind, since he didn't do what he did for glory... much), causing the other girls except Mizore to yell at her to let go.

"Relax," was her reply, "I just want to get to know Tsukune-kun better since I'm the newest one to the group." The girl then dropped her vice down low and whispered sultrily into Tsukune's ear, "What do you say? Want to come back to my room and get to know each other better?"

Everyone was stunned by how foreward Yukari was, though Tsukune definitely had it the worse, blushing so profusely from the insinuations that Naruto though that his extremities would fall off from lack of blood.

Of course, it just kept going down hill for him as Kurumu announced, "Nonsense," making Tsukune temporarily think he was saved, until the girl stuck his arm between her well-developed breasts, continuing with, "if he wanted to sleep with someone, it would be someone mature, like me."

Moka soon enough joined in, grabbing his other arm and trying to get Kurumu and Yukari to leave the boy alone. What followed was Tsukune standing limply on his feet, being yanked around like a rag doll, looking hopefully to Naruto, knowing that his authority could get him out of his mess. However, the blond left him to the proverbial dogs, a large grin on his face and commenting that, "Tsukune seems to be a pretty popular guy."

"If you're feeling left out, I'd be happy to get to know you better," said Mizore, scooting up beside Naruto and looking into his eyes, blushing heavily, but otherwise showing very little emotion. Naruto stared blankly at her for a moment, before letting out a large laugh, thinking she was joking, though having his laugh become more awkward when he noticed that she was still looking at him the same way, a bit of longing in her eyes.

"You're funny, Shirayuki-chan," he stated awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to diffuse the bombshell he was currently sitting on. He didn't want to hurt the sweet girl, but he also couldn't risk her reputation by starting a reputation with her. Not that he didn't want to, but what would she do when he returned home? For now, he would act as if she was joking around, playing ignorant but also work in a hypothetical. "The problem with your joke though is that it would be wrong for a teacher to take advantage of their student, and even if that wasn't how it went, it would be how it was seen."

"And if the one viewed as the more vulnerable party didn't care what others though, what then?" asked Mizore, flinging the blond's supposition right back at him, throwing him for a loop momentarily before he could respond.

"Regardless, it is an educator's job to protect their students, even if it's not what they necessarily want," said Naruto, keeping up with the hypothetical, even though it was clear all pretenses of a joke were done away with. He retained the facade, though, viewing it as the thin line between a real conversation and theoretical banter that it was, just barely keeping this from being completely real.

"Is this turning into another of your life lessons?" asked Mizore, though it was obvious it was a joke, denoting the fact that she had seemed to have dropped the possibility for a relationship for now.

"That's impossible; I don't have any wrenches to back it up with," the blond joked back, happy that matters had turned less serious and allowing him to adopt a true smile.

"If you ask me, you're charismatic enough to do without them when teaching. In fact, I would go so far to say that even the more stubborn students would come around if you just talked to them more."

"Oh, I'm just that awesome, huh?" he asked, causing the two to share a chuckle. At this point, the other three girls stopped fighting as they released Tsukune, oblivious to what had just happened, still glaring slightly at each other. That's when Tsukune noticed something.

"Hey, looks like someone else found this spot, too. Must have been angry."

Confused, everyone turned to the direction he was looking, seeing a badly damaged tree, its bark worn and the wood underneath badly bruised. Seeing this, of course, caused Naruto's eyes to widen slightly in shock. Not wanting the others to figure someone had done that in training, especially lest they think it was him, the blond hurriedly diverted attention from the plantae abuse by asking, "So, how did you guys find this spot, anyway? You know, going through the woods and all."

"Mizore popped out of the foliage one day last week while we were eating lunch."

At Naruto's confuse look, the group collectively pointed off to the side, causing him a bit of shock when he noticed that the common area of the school was visible not ten metres in that direction through the dead trees, making him wonder how he had not noticed that before.

"How long has that been there?" he asked, causing the others to just stare at him.

(A Few Hours Later):

Time had passed with the group rather swiftly. While there had been a few minor altercations between Moka, Yukari, and Kurumu (all of which Naruto enjoyed thoroughly for sheer comedic value), the group had spent most of the time joking around and walking around the woods, understanding Naruto's precaution of not wanting to be seen with them much.

They had all learned something about each other, however small the piece of information was. For example, Kurumu loved to cook, and was quite an accomplished baker if her word was to be taken. Tsukune had an older cousin who he had spent most of his life with. Moka had three sisters. Yukari was working on producing magical items. Mizore had a deep appreciation for flowers, something which Naruto found cute.

As for the blond, he told everyone that he came from a faraway village and held a high position in the military structure. When asked how it was possible for someone so young to be in the military to begin with, Naruto just shrugged the question off and said it was just the way his home worked. He also added that it was surrounded by trees, just like the academy, though on average they were much taller and he had never wandered across a dead one.

Before long, though, Naruto had to leave saying he had some things he had to take care of. He just didn't want them to feel left out by actually going to meet with Shizuka, so he didn't tell them. Besides, they had each other, so they wouldn't miss him much. So, with smiles and farewells all around, the teacher left his student, unaware of the person that also left the group, following him not a few minutes later.

A quick saunter through the trees, and the blond emerged into the commons, which was bustling with life by now as students finally got enough energy to get out of bed. They were all out and about, clogging paths, mingling with friends, just all around making it nigh impossible to single out anyone in their masses.

Of course Naruto, being himself, was accustomed to doing the nigh impossible, and was quickly able to spot Shizuka, sitting at a table by herself, back turned to him, her slouched appearance giving the blond the impression that she was actually rather down, possibly from waiting for him and thus being lonely, or perhaps something else. Whatever the reason, Naruto was determined to fix it.

Sneaking up behind the woman was an easy task, causing Naruto to grin at her ignorance. Then, playfully, he covered her eyes, causing Shizuka to go stiff and begin panicking in her head before she heard the soft, comforting voice saying, "Guess who."

She turned around in her seat, her grin matching the one sported by the blond behind her as she laughed, "Naruto-chan, don't do that! You scared me!"

"Sorry," was the blond's response, slightly abashed as he took a seat opposite Shizuka at the circular and otherwise empty table. "But look on the bright side," he continued, "You're smiling, aren't you?"

"I guess I am," she admitted, her smile growing if anything. "Truthfully, I was having a pretty bad day until you showed up?"

"Oh?" asked Naruto, all jolly and uncaring pretence dropped in favour of adopting a more concerned persona. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," was the teacher's response, coming out of her absent-mindedness and trying to cover up her slip to rid Naruto of his worries.

The blond wasn't having any of it. "Shizuka-chan," he said with all seriousness, catching her attention right away, "Ever since I arrived here, you've been helping me, either as treating me as a friend, or helping me get used to the school, or even listening to my own problems. Please, let me help you like you help me."

Initially, the woman didn't want to bother her friend with her own issues, but seeing the look held in those deep blue orbs of his, the sheer willingness to hep her that he showed, Shizuka's resolve quickly crumbled. "I guess I was just feeling lonely this morning. With no classes, I wasn't able to see any of my students."

"You really like being around those miserable brats, huh?" asked Naruto as he propped his arms up on the table and rested his chin in his hands, a smile on his face. Playfully, Shizuka kicked him under the table for his comment.

"From what I understand, Naruto-chan, you like most of your students as well."

"Heh, guess you're right," the blond chuckled.

"Besides, I wasn't able to see you earlier this morning, either."

"Sorry about that, but I need to ensure that the students don't break the rules. Patrolling the campus takes time," Naruto said, coming up with an excuse as to why he hadn't spent more time with her. While there wasn't anything wrong with spending time with a select few students, he didn't want the woman to feel left out, even if it did mean lying to her. Besides, maybe he would just find time to actually start a patrol.

"But Naruto-chan," Shizuka interrupted the blond's thought process, her hair tufts drooping a bit as if they were actual ears, a quizzical look coming to her face, "Why would you go on a patrol? Your job is to teach these children and stop conflict right in front of you if one breaks out, including looking out for the students you sentence to detention. You shouldn't actively seek out problems, especially when the school has personnel to do just that."

"Shizuka-chan," he started to whine, "I just want to make sure everyone has a good... wait, what do you mean the school has people to patrol the area?"

"Yeah, the Student Police Committee. You haven't heard of them?"

"Not until now. What are they like?"

"Ugh, well..." Shizuka was uneasy with this line of questioning. She didn't agree with the committee on most matters, but really didn't think it was her place to push her perspective of the group onto her friend, intentional or not. "Hey, why don't you tell me about that person you helped; Yukari, right?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, recounting how he had helped the young witch find friends via a prank war, a smile on his face as he reminisced. However, he hadn't forgotten about the student Police Committee. If anything, Shizuka's subject change just furthered his resolve to find out what it was. He just knew now that he would have to go to a different source. He was planning to go to the top.

(End):

And that's that. If you have yet to hear, for the third and final time I will say I am not Echo, but his temporary replacement for the duration of his hiatus. Or until I go back to the university, whichever comes first. It'll probably be the latter. Since I'm still relatively new to this, I'll leave it to you to say how I did. Unless you plan on being a cock about it, then you ban fuck off. Of course, if you didn't like it, blame Echo, because was adamant about me updating all of his current stories, but didn't bother to leave me an outline like with everything else, thus leaving me flying solo, the douche. That being said, I attempted (not sure if I succeeded) to keep everyone in character and explored some new faucets, advanced the plot a bit, along with setting up the next chapter. If he doesn't like it, it'll teach him both to not leave a novice in charge and to flesh out the plot himself a bit more before he inevitably does leave a novice in charge again. And I'll leave it there, since I can't right think of anything else to say. Now piss off.


	9. Meeting of the Minds

Chapter 9: Meeting of the Minds

Hey everyone, as promised, I'm back... about a month later then I had wished to be. Though there is a reason for that. First off, I sort of unwittingly doubled my workload at school, so there's that. Then, I lost my tutoring position. Not due to any fault of my own, but because the little shits I helped out decided that they didn't need to take advantage of a free program. While the job was horrid, the pay was at least decent and I only had to work two hours a day, five on weekends. So now I'm stuck working in retail, unable to name my hours for the most part. Then, there's the fact I've decided to take a more proactive approach with my stories. My old style just sort of wore me out, and while I got material out fast, I wasn't quite happy with the quality. So, while I'm probably rusty, I hope improvements in this are visible. That, of course, means that chapters are going to take even longer to come out, so expect on a month at the most, and with me alternating, that averages out to a chapter every three months for this story. I may surprise you, but don't count on it.

In other news, that proactivity also means paying more attention to you, the reader. That's right, I've finally decided to answer your questions! That will be at the bottom of the page. Note that if you want to ask my something, but don't want it to be posted at the end of a chapter, just say so and I'll answer you individually.

Also, I would like to thank Chuck for filling in for me while I was gone. He did surprisingly well for being left with nothing, and it seems you guys thought so as well. I would also like to thank Lykaos who decided to return to being my beta and give this chapter an even better quality. So everybody please than him as well.

And that's about it. So, now that the formalities are out of the way, let's get to what we 're all here for.

/

Disclaimer!:

Ha, got you. No, I think I've made my point quite clear in the past, so I'm not doing these anymore. So, onwards!

/

Immediately after lunch was over, Naruto had left Shizuka, saying he was going to torment some of the students, a big smile on his face as he elicited a small, almost strained chuckle from his friend, though leaving her none the wiser to his true intentions. The fact that she sidestepped his question about this Student Safety Committee had only steeled his determination to find out more about them, which was why he now found himself before the imposing, wooden doors of the Chairman's office.

Idly, he wondered if it wasn't too late to turn back. He could probably go and grill Shizuka for more information, or at the very least turn up the Uzumaki charm to get something out of her, but dismissed the idea. The former could very well ruin their relationship, an in any event, she seemed adamant about not telling him anything.

Maybe that was a sign. The feline woman was usually so forthcoming with information and willing to help the blonde out. So why was now any different? Was she trying to protect him from something? If so, what? If anything, it just made him apprehensive about the whole situation, and that just made him all the more curious.

_'Still, maybe I should turn back...'_ he thought to himself a final time, really not wanting to step into the office again if he could help it. He just got a bad vibe from it. However, this just made him get mad at himself. Grabbing his head in frustration, he internally shouted, _'Why am I so goddamn indecisive? Fuck it! I'm already here, and I'm not turning back.'_

Then, with determination brimming in his eyes, Naruto approached the door and raised his fist to knock. Before he could get any further, though, a voice rang out from behind the door. "If you're done arguing with yourself, the door's unlocked. Come in."

More than a bit disconcerted about the fact that the Chairman seemed to have known he was just standing outside the door, Naruto hesitated, if only briefly, before complying with the invitation to enter the office, though really saw it as more of a demand.

Again surprised with how easy to open the large doors were, he thought it would be a bit more appropriate if they at least creaked a little, then chastised himself to drop the cliches. As he entered the office itself, he saw the Chairman looking down at some papers on his desk, then looking up to see him, as if he hadn't just called the blonde in. "Ah, Uzumaki-san, what a surprise. Come, sit."

As if the glowing eyes weren't unnerving enough, the smile on the robed man's face was. The feeling only worsened when the door closed behind him, the bang reverberating off the walls. Still, Naruto approached, needing the information that the man no doubt held. As he walked the unnecessary long distance to the desk, his footsteps echoing around him, he thought it nice that the large window behind the Chairman was left unobstructed, as it lightened up the (if not downright oppressive) gloomy and disheartening feel of the office.

Naruto soon reached the desk and took a seat in the simple wooden chair in front of it, the Chairman leaning forwards on his work-space as the blonde did so, fingers steepled in front of his face. "So tell me, Uzumaki-san, what brings you here?"

"I was hoping you could help me with something," admitted Naruto, refusing to meet the man's gaze as he said so. It wasn't that he was ashamed to be asking for help, he just didn't feel like staring into the glowing pits of torment that were the Chairman's eyes. Still, he could tell the man had raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Oh?" he asked. "Then tell me what it is you think I'll help you with."

"I want to know about this 'Student Safety Commission' I recently heard about."

"And why bring this to me? Surely you could have found someone else to sate your hunger for knowledge. Or are you here regarding something you've heard of them?"

"That's just it,"said Naruto, finally looking up to the Chairman, seeing that his face was contorted into a look of deep thought. "So far, I've only heard them mentioned, and whenever I try to push for information about them, the subject is always changed."

Sure it wasn't the truth, but to Naruto, it sounded a whole hell of a lot better than saying, 'Nekonome-san wouldn't tell me.'

"Well then, I'd be more than glad to tell you about them, but I think I'll do better than that. I tell you where their located, get you into a meeting with the group's leader. That should give you a little more clarity."

"Really?" asked the blonde, an excited grin on his face, even though the Chairman's face was still so severe.

"Of course. But first, would you mind telling your little friend to come inside?"

Naruto stared at the man, perplexed for a minute, before he heard a thump just outside the door. Swiftly turning in his chair, leaning over the back slightly, he faced the source called out, "Who's there?" with his eyes narrowed. His eyes quickly widened in surprise, however, when the eavesdropping individual opened the door and slowly entered the office. "Shirayuki-chan?"

A small chuckle emanated form the Chairman, inciting Naruto to turn back to him as Mizore walked up to where he was sitting. "Well then, Shirayuki-san, is it? I commend you for eluding Uzumaki-san's notice, especially given his... previous profession."

If Naruto had to describe the Chairman's look, he would have to say it was one of bemusement as he regarded the blonde's wayward ward. Although, it only made him worry about the affect it may have on the girl. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he was more than a bit surprised to find she was rather stoic about the whole thing, even though he was expecting to find her a little ashamed, if only for being caught.

"And while I am curious as to why you are here, I believe I have a good enough idea, and that it is something better discussed between the two of you first. So instead I'll ask how much you know about the situation. I don't want to have to repeat information you could easily tell Uzumaki-san and waste time."

"I know that Sensei wants to know about the Student Safety Commission. The group itself I don't know much about, but I can infer that people don't exactly see them in a positive light."

"So in other words, not much is being excised from my explanation." The chairman's mouth twitched a bit, momentarily forming a frown before becoming a hard line once again as he shrugged slightly. "Then again, you are going to meet the current leader of the Committee, so I'll just tell you the abbreviated version. Basically, the group was founded to ensure that the level of violence here at our lovely facility was kept to a minimum, and to do so by most any means necessary. As such, they are students who are given more... let's say leeway... than your average student. Those who are interested can apply for a position and undergo a rigorous selection process, including being required to consistently preform above average in level academic wise. As such, only the most capable students are accepted. However, many students and even faculty see the methods they use to enforce the law here to be a bit heavy-handed in nature."

"What do you mean by 'heavy-handed'?" Asked Naruto, eyes narrowed. Even Mizore was a bit suspicious by what the Chairman meant by that. No attention was paid to their concerns, though.

"In any event, you'll be able to decide for yourself what you think about them. I'll send word of both you and your ward's arrival, so as not to alarm them. Their leader Kuyou, is highly suspicious of outsiders, and that has no doubt rubbed off onto his men. So yes, just head to the eastern edge of the school grounds, and you should come across a stony structure protruding from the ground. No doubt, a few members will be guarding it. They'll be wearing black uniforms. That is all."

And with that, the Chairman picked up a pen and turned back to his work. Naruto, though, still had questions. "But-..." he began, before the man inclined his head back too the blonde, his eyes seeming to almost flash as an unnerving smile was plastered to his face.

"I said that will be all."

Momentarily, Naruto contemplated standing his ground, but as the man kept staring at him, he quickly turned and left without any more objections, Mizore on his heels, along with unsettling laughter from the Chairman.

/

"So, how long were you following me, exactly?" asked Naruto abruptly as he and Mizore walked down a nondescript path to what they assumed was their destination. For a while, and awkward silence had hung between them, and, unbeknownst to the other, each party had kept sneaking glances at their companion, before the blonde finally decided to strike up a conversation.

"I haven't left your side since you went to have lunch with that woman," the girl replied, refusing to be nonplussed by the sudden question, even if that's exactly what it caused Naruto to become, even causing him to stumble a bit. "Her name is Nekonome-sensei, right?"

"Um, yes." replied Naruto as he worked to get his gait back under control.

"What is she to you?"

The question caused Naruto a bit of distress, mainly because he was worried for his student. He couldn't quite distinguish what her tone was, though he knew it was nothing good, nor fitting, for her to speak with. He tried to look at her, but her face oriented downwards, shadowed by her hair.

"Shizuka-chan's a friend," was the boy's cautious reply. He quite vividly recalled the conversation they had had not too long ago, and didn't want to harm her in any way, even if he was speaking the truth.

"A friend?" asked Mizore, looking up to him as she stopped walking, causing him to halt as well. And for the first time, he saw sadness in the girl's blue eyes.

"Well, yes. Like you or the others. I mean, we're all friends, right?"

The girl was quiet for a moment, inciting a bit of concern in Naruto, before she responded, "Yes, we're friends."

Naruto wasn't convinced. In fact, he wasn't even sure Mizore was convinced, which made him a bit depressed. Sure, it hadn't been long, but he had thought that he had shown the amount of kindness considered appropriate in his situation. He knew what this was really about though.

That didn't mean he was going to confront the issue, not at that moment, at least. Especially since they had discussed the matter recently. Naruto still didn't see what the girl saw in him, or why she seemed so focused on him in the first place. In any event, he had to get her spirits up for the time being.

"Tell you what, if you want, after this we can go and do something together. Just the two of us. How's that sound?" asked Naruto, a smile on his face as he inflected his voice to sound as if he didn't see the connotations of the situation. Sure, the facade here was useless in practice, and both parties knew it, but the blonde thought it helped him cope a bit.

In any event, it caused Mizore to perk up a bit, her face becoming flushed in colour as she saw that it would be like a date, and quickly agreed. It caused Naruto's smile to broaden as he saw she was in a better mood, and soon the two were walking again.

Seemingly needing more stimulation as they walked, or at least a way to pass the time, Mizore soon asked another question. "Back in the Chairman's office, he said something about your past profession. What did he mean by that?"

Naruto glanced at her curiously in the corner of his eye, before turning to face her completely, walking backwards now. "Remember when I told you about my home earlier today?"

"You mean how you were part of the military structure, right?"

"Yeah. If you remember, then why are you asking?"

"Well, you never specified what role you played, only saying you held a high rank in its structure. And how would that fit in with it being 'commendable' for not being noticed tailing you?"

"Oh, that. Well..." began Naruto, rubbing his head as he tried to think of something to say. He didn't feel it appropriate to just come out and say he was a shinobi, as it was breaking one of the academy's core tenants to directly reveal what you were to someone. Eventually he settled on, "I was authorized to lead small, elite cells on missions, ranging from battles to more covert operations, such as spying. Granted, the former hasn't actually happened since I was just a regular solider, and the latter still rarely happens as there still is a time of peace in my home, but you understand. So due to the fact that the military covets stealth so greatly, he probably thinks I should have been able to notice you. Of course, I never paid attention to that sneaky stuff."

The last sentence was marked with a slightly abashed grin and strained chuckle. The display was enough to cause Mizore to giggle, if only a bit, as she hid it behind her hand. It pleased Naruto, knowing she was better now.

This questioning probably could have gone on for a bit longer, but both were made to stop with both their thoughts and movements as they came to the end of the trees. Just through them, they could see a stone structure poking out from the ground with what seemed to be a pathway in it going down. Naruto could just barely make out little sparkles in the dark and distant entrance way, something he assumed were lights.

Along with that, there were also two people standing outside of the structure, both dressed in black like the Chairman had said, standing on guard diligently. Once again, the blonde could just barely make something out. There was an object hanging off the hip of the guard on the left. He couldn't quite identify it, though.

At this point, Naruto turned to Mizore, ready to ask her if she was sure if she wanted to go ahead with him one last time. He was prevented from doing so, however, when one of the guards seemed to sense them, shouting out to the trees in which they were just barely hidden in, "Come out! I know you're there!"

Glancing at Mizore one last time, Naruto saw she was also looking at him, and gave a nod, showing she was ready. He nodded back, and then took point, coming out first.

While this was going on, the guard on the right looked over to his partner, a confused look on his face as he asked, "What are you talking about? No one's here but you and me."

He was proven wrong as Naruto and Mizore came out of the woods, causing the previously oblivious guard to sputter. "First rule, Rook: don't question me. Or any of your superiors, for that matter. That comes right before remaining on guard at all times."

Naruto could only just here this as he approached, and could also make out what was on the superior's waist. It was a katana. Sure, it was sheathed, but it still filled him with trepidation. For what need did he need for that sort of weapon? Was it just him who had it, or was it standard issue for the more elite members of the group? In any event, it caused him to tense, ready to flee with Mizore, lest she got injured should things go south quickly.

As soon as they were about fifteen feet away, the senior guard told them to stop. "That will be far enough. State your business."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Shirayuki Mizore," said the blonde, deciding to cut to the chase, as he found it quite obvious that the guard had no patience for outsiders. His steely grey eyes told him as much. While he was observing, Naruto also saw the guard had short, brown hair, as well as a nasty scar on the right side of his face. As for his partner, there was really nothing remarkable about him. "The Chairman should have sent word ahead about our visit."

At this point, the rookie spoke up. "Nice try," he began, trying to act nonchalant, though it was obvious he was excited, thinking he was being cool. "However, we haven't received any word that..."

"Go on in," said the superior, inclining his head to the opening as he interrupted the rookie.

"Thank you," said Naruto as he started to the entrance, Mizore in tow, before the rookie spoke up again.

"Wait, what do you mean they can go in? We haven't gotten any word of any visitors!"

"You're right, Rook. _We_ haven't. _I_, however, have. You probably weren't told because you probably would have decided to let the first person you saw in regardless, instead of regarding them with the caution that you should. You may meet the requirements for being a member of the Commission, but you still have much to learn. Go on," he said again, turning back to Naruto. The blonde simply nodded to him this time before continuing with his ward.

"Well, that was simple enough,"said the teacher as he lead the way down the narrow stairway. In fact, the passage was so narrow that he didn't even have room to extend his arms at his sides fully. Naruto couldn't really see the point of such a compact design, especially when it was made all the more cramped by torches lining the walls, spaced apart about every fifteen feet.

"I suppose so," replied Mizore, a tinge of anxiousness in her voice. "Those two up there seemed strange, though."

"How do you mean?" asked Naruto. "I mean, considering they were on guard duty to begin with, it would make sense that they're not fit for normal duty or something."

"But the older one, the one with the scarred face, seemed so professional. What could he have done to be posted their?" 

"I couldn't tell you," the blonde simply shrugged. "Maybe they work on a buddy system. Considering the younger one was clearly new to his position, it would make sense. Still, we might find someone to explain it to us."

Eventually, the stairway came to an end, about a hundred feet down from the surface. Quite pleasantly, the hall had also widened to about ten feet, making the blonde much less claustrophobic. However, not much else had changed. In fact, the only other thing was the fact that at the other end of the hall was a large, metal door, and a person standing before it.

As the two continued their approach (Mizore now to Naruto's left given the room, though still slightly behind him), Naruto began to make the person out. They were, of course, wearing the same clothing as the guards, also with a katana at his hip. They also had long, blonde hair, which seemed to glow in the dim light. Until the person actually spoke, Naruto couldn't identify their gender.

"That will be far enough," said a masculine voice. "Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, and my companion is Shirayuki Mizore," the teacher replied, once again serving as delegate for the two.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. Let me welcome you to our little group's headquarters. If you'll just come this way, I've been asked to give you a tour of the place."

"Of course," said Naruto, as both he and Mizore followed the elder blonde as he first opened the large door, let the m go through, and then lead them down the hall.

"As I'm sure you have deduced by now, our organization prides itself in staying out of the public eye, for the most part. At times, we will preform public demonstrations, or just increase our overall presence throughout the school grounds, though we often find alternatives to encourage good behavior, partially to retain the anonymity of many of our ranks, though mainly to keep appearances up."

"I'm afraid I don't understand that," admitted Naruto. "To me, it seems more sensible to make yourself know, to directly contest any who would break the rules or wish harm on the students."

"And in certain situations, I would agree with that method," yielded their escort. "However, let me ask you something: who is it that people would be more cautious about crossing? The group that is constantly looming over your shoulder, telling you what you should and shouldn't do, or the group that observes people from the shadows, striking with a silent efficiency?"

"I can see your point, as the group very few people know about is hard to rebel against. Though I don't see how it helps with your public image. Shouldn't your group be approachable to students who have problems and may need your help?"

At this point, the trio had come to another door, guarded by two more people. The escort just nodded to them, and waited as they opened the door before moving aside, bowing to him. In Naruto's eyes, it definitely seemed as if this person was an important person in the Student Safety Commission.

"We actually don't really take complaints from students directly," answered the escort as they passed through into a large, open room. Inside, people were bustling around carrying stacks of papers, to desks, before proceeding to file through them at a rapid pace. "In fact, this is how we do most of our work. What you see are records on every student and most faculty members at this school. We go through them and update information periodically, with the help of our investigation unit. We particularly like keeping tabs on those we particularly see as risks to the stability of this school, as well as those more likely to violate the the code of conduct. I must admit, I took the chance to look through both of your files when I heard you were coming, and found some... interesting information."

As he said this, the escort looked pointedly over his shoulder at Mizore, causing her to look away, not willing to meet the glance. While it made him suspicious, it also made Naruto scowl, though the other blonde looked away before the teacher could say anything.

"I must say, you've made quite the reputation for yourself already, Uzumaki-san. Your liberal application of justice and practice to uphold the rules would normally earn you an invitation to join our enforcement division. Unfortunately, we are a student organization, and as such, we do not allow faculty to join."

"'Liberal application of justice'?" Naruto questioned, a bit amused at the description, though not quite sure what he meant by it.

"Don't act coy, Uzumaki-san. From what I understand, on the first day, you not only broke a student's clavicle for disrespecting you, in another teacher's class, might I add, but later broke the same student's arm in the middle of a high-traffic area and gave him a detention, which he came back from even more battered than before, refusing to say what had happened. What I mean to say is, you're rather forceful."

"The be fair, the latter two times, he was picking a fight with other students that clearly wouldn't be able to hold their own against him. I did what I had to to ensure their protection."

The escort chuckled a bit at that. "Relax. I am not judging you, simply making an observation. No need to get defensive."

"I'm not defensive," Naruto grumbled to himself, though he could see the smirk grow on the escort's face, telling the teacher he had somehow heard him. "Anyway, once you determine someone has broken the rules, how do you deal with them?"

"Funny you should ask," remarked the guide. Naruto could literally hear him smirking. "We're actually coming up to our detention center."

Just the way the escort said that filled Naruto with a sense of unease. They came to another, guarded door, which they were easily let through. What was on the other side, though, caused pause in the two visitors, and Mizore to gasp.

Naruto could only stare in abject horror as he took in his surroundings. Though the lighting was far dimmer than it had been previously, it was easy to see the sickening conditions of the new chamber. Cells lined either side of the room for the length of the hall, and while they couldn't be more than nine feet by twelve, most had at the very least six occupants cramped together in them. Their tattered and blood-stained clothing, along with gaunt, bruised, and perpetually dazed faces told Naruto that along with being malnourished, they were probably beaten senseless at least twice a week.

The room itself could overall be considered grimy, with filth covering the walls and floors, though the central walkway was kept mostly clean, which didn't help the overpowering and putrid scent in the least. The cells, though, looked as if they had never been cleaned. Also, between every cell, a guard was positioned, a club in hand to beat off rowdy prisoners, though most of the captives appeared to be a combination of too fearful, tired, or resigned to even think to try standing up against them.

Eventually, their escort noticed that the two guests were no longer following him, and, halting his movements, looked over his shoulder and called out from halfway down the hall, "Is there a problem?" boredom in his voice. Still in a stupor, Naruto just turned to the man, an slowly began to approach, not noticing that Mizore was still frozen in place.

He was stopped as he got closer though, as a new voice made itself known. "Y-You!" it rasped out weakly, emanating from one of the cells. It was one of the prisoners, just as worse for wear as the others, but at this point, Naruto also noticed that a majority of them had open sores and pustules on much of their bodies, a testament to both disease and the amount of time they had spent in the environment. The guard closest to the cell wouldn't have the prisoner speaking, though.

"No talking, trash. You know the rules."

The prisoner paid the guard no heed. He would not sit in silence anymore. He would tell his story. He approached the bars, gaining more shouts from the guard as he regarded Naruto with pitiful, pleading eyes. The blonde was at a loss for what to do, however, just staring dumbly at the person, unable to move.

He grasped the bars, trying to communicate feverishly to Naruto. "Please, I don't belong here!" he whimpered.

The guard, in the meantime, had lost his patience and slammed his club on the cell bars, right where the unruly prisoner's fingers were, resulting in a combination of a metallic clang and the sickening cracking of bone as his digits were mangled. The pain caused the prisoner to fall to his knees and release the bars, cringing, though he made no pained noises.

"Look how they treat us," he continued pleading. "They never feed us and they beat us no matter what we do, if only to set examples and keep us in fear. Most of us didn't even do anything to be here."

"I told you to shut your mouth," said the guard, finally opening the cage door and rushing in, grabbing the prisoner by the neck and slamming him roughly into the ground, his head bouncing off the concrete floor. As if that wasn't enough, the guard then raised his club and savagely brought it down on the helpless prisoner, smashing first into his jaw, breaking it in one blow, before moving onto the rest of his body, speaking with each hit.

"Hey now, that's enough," Naruto said, finally regaining his senses as he stretched his arm toward the guard, not seeming to understand he was too far away to realistically do anything, though he did draw the intrigue of the other guards and prisoners. However, the man he wanted to stop just kept on beating the helpless man.

"You. Would. Do. Well. To. Follow. Orders."

As few more hits and he was breathing heavily, though the prisoner had still yet to cry out in agony, which only seemed to make the guard even angrier as he raised the club again, even though the prisoner was reduced to a motionless heap except for a twitch every now and then. This seemed to set something off in the blonde, just seeing the broken prisoner taking the undeserved beating. That fact that no one, not even himself, had done anything to stop the senseless brutality before then just served to make him more pissed. Willing himself to move, and no longer thinking about what his actions may yield, Naruto rushed forewords and grasped the guards wrist in mid-air, stopping him from striking the prisoner again.

"Wha-?"

His words were stopped as Naruto punched him in the face. "I said that was enough!"

The guard and the his weapon fell to the unforgiving ground, causing a rush excitement in the prison block, unbeknownst to Naruto. The blonde was too concerned with checking on how the injured prisoner was doing. Right away he could see the broken jaw and hand, and if the wheezing was any indication, several ribs were probably cracked, and for all he knew, a rib could be punctured. Though, besides that, the man was covered in blood and he was heavily bruised, and had numerous scars and scabs. It wouldn't surprise the blonde if the claim that he was beaten daily was true.

Turning, the blonde was about to ask for medical attention for the prisoner, only to receive a boot to the face. After Naruto had punched out the guard, the other guards had sprung into action, most rushing to secure the cell the teacher was in, though some remaining behind to indiscriminately quell the cries of riot that had thinly spread throughout the cells.

"Uzumaki-sensei!" Mizore yelled, prepared to rush over and stop her teacher from being stomped on by the guards. She was stopped, however, by an arm held out in front of her. It was their escort.

"Now, now," he said, gazing as some guards carried their unconscious comrade and his weapon out before returning to the cell to either stomp Naruto more or beat more of the prisoners in their for no apparent reason, "you don't want to go in there. The guards are just doing what they were trained to. Believe me, you don't want to interfere."

Mizore decided at that moment that this man frightened her. He just looked on contemptuously as the subservient prisoners were continually beaten back and Naruto was finally dragged out of the cell before the guards proceeded to stomp him much more, though the disdain wasn't for the actions that occurred. It was for the true victims of the incident.

For as much as she wanted to just leave the man be, she couldn't let him have the guards continually beat someone she cared for, not after he acted on the behalf of a helpless prisoner. She turned to the man, desperation on her face as she pleaded, "Please, stop them!"

The man's cool gaze turned to her, an eyebrow arched, though his face otherwise becoming a blank slate once again. He watch as the men stomped Naruto for a few more moments, the blonde guarding vital areas quite effectively, though the escort could tell he could probably escape the situation with only moderate difficulty.

He finally decided to regard the men directly, giving the order of, "That will be enough. Return to your posts."

Without a second thought, the guards stepped away from Naruto and did as told, allowing Mizore to finally sidestep the escort and rush to her teacher's side and help him into a sitting position. She could see that aside from a few scraped and bruises, he was unharmed, and quickly got to his feet. Though she could also see he was mad, and that his anger was directed at one person in particular.

"Good. Now if we'll continue on," the escort remarked as he walked out of the room, as if nothing had happened. Naruto and Mizore followed, though the blonde had a bone to pick with the person leading them. His inaction had caused a seed of cold rage for the organization to be planted within Naruto, as determination and unadulterated anger became painted on the blonde's face and he clutched his fists tight enough to almost dislocate his fingers. "As I was saying, that was just one of our detention blocks in the facility..." the man continued as they exited the chamber before being cut off.

"Just what was that?" asked Naruto, eyes narrowed and a dangerous tint to his voice. The escort just regarded him calmly, though with a questioning look on his face.

"I just said it was a detention center."

"That's not what I meant," growled Naruto, angered by the aloofness shown by the escort at the indignity that had just transpired against everyone in that prison block. Looking back at Mizore and seeing that she was still worried for him and more than likely sickened by how those people were treated just made him all the more pissed. "What was that?" he demanded. "How can you keep prisoners in such conditions? How can you see a man beaten like that and just simply brush it off? How long have you kept them deprived down there?"

With each question asked renewing the vision of what he had just seen, Naruto found it surprising that he restrained himself from lashing out at the escort in his anger. It was clear that the man noticed this, but paid it little heed as he responded.

"You claim that they don't deserve to live in those conditions, insinuating that they deserve better, or may even be innocent. You are simply naïve. So, let me tell you something: those people are the worst liars, cheats, murderers, and rapists that this academy has ever been tainted with. Our guards are trained to block out their words, and to quiet them when they get too rowdy, like you just saw. Some are the equivalent of demagogues, preying on the emotions of those ignorant to listen, pleading their innocence and trying fruitlessly to turn our own people or the rare visitor against us."

"So you keep them down here for years, depriving them of simple necessities and beating them for disobeying you?"

The escort kept his calm disposition, though it was clear that the more Naruto spoke, the more irritated he was becoming. "You continue to preach something you know little of. On more then one occasion, those brave and patient men have had their batons stolen and were beaten, simply for being too empathetic for a prisoner's plight and believing their lies, something, which I might add, you almost facilitated when you knocked one of my guards out. In a bid to prevent that, I gave the order to beat whomever tries to manipulate those who would fall victim to the baseless accusations against us. Also, when apprehended, the prisoners are given a chance to confess their crimes for a swifter sentence, perhaps even better conditions, depending on the crime. Few ever take the offer."

"Yes, that makes sense, because your organization is obviously infallible," replied Naruto in a mocking tone.

"You don't have to agree with our methods, Uzumaki-san," replied the escort, saying the name with thinly veiled hostility. "Although it is strange, considering you're the one who asked for an audience with me in the first place."

It was at that point Naruto realized that the escort had started using words like 'I' and 'me' with growing frequency, especially in terms of running things around the place. The blonde also realized he had never been given a name. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Just who are you, anyway?"

Hearing this, the man stopped for a moment, and turned to look at Naruto, all traces of annoyance washed from his face. Incredulity replaced it. After a few moments, Naruto also stopped feeling angry for a moment, confused by the lengthy pause, but grew more enraged when he thought that he was being mocked.

Before the teacher could act on his feelings, the man shook himself from his stupor and began moving again as if nothing had happened, leaving the two behind by his suddenness. The two quickly caught up as they reached a fork in the path, following as he hung a left, once again catching them off guard.

"Hey, what's this about?" the blonde demanded as he stumbled through the turn, Mizore at his side, his irritation piqued.

"I guess I never really did introduce myself," the man said in a barely audible mumble, almost as if talking more to himself than his temporary companions.

"And what the hell does that mean?"

Naruto was once again ignored, which almost pushed him far enough to strike the bastard in front of him. He held himself back, though, as he caught the sight of purple from the edge of his vision. With he silence, he had almost forgotten Mizore was there, and as confident as he was in his abilities, he couldn't risk the girl getting hurt. He had to keep reminding himself that.

And the blonde's temporary patience soon paid off, as the group soon came to a nondescript door, one that didn't have guards flanking either side of it. What id did have was several locks, all of which the man deftly unlocked with a ring of keys he pulled from his pocket. He quickly stepped inside, leaving the door open for the two behind him to enter.

Cautiously, Naruto entered, noting that it was an office. Nothing like the Chairman's, but still pretty spacious, especially compared to his own. Though, the blonde found himself preferring his own office, because even though it was cramped, it at the very least had a window and adequate lighting. This had neither, being both underground and under increased fire hazard conditions if more than the few torches in there were introduced to the environment.

The teacher noticed that the man sat behind a large metal desk in the back of the room and indicated to the chair in front of him. Noticing that Mizore had closed the door behind her, Naruto internally cursed, knowing now that an escape would take a few more precious seconds should it come to it, but nevertheless approached, standing before the man, his student by his side. Mizore appeared nervous to him, and Naruto vowed to get what he wanted and then get out so as to relieve her of some stress.

"Sit," the man said, once again indicating to the chair thinly veiled anger coming through at the initial rejection of his offer.

"I'll stand," Naruto replied with a slight growl, not even bothering to hide his disdain for the man. "Tell me who you are and any more excuses you have so we can leave."

By now, Naruto had a pretty good idea of the man's position, but had to ask anyway. He needed confirmation.

"Figures someone like you would ask for a meeting with the head of an organization without knowing a thing about the group," the man sneered. "My name is Kuyou, said leader of the Student Safety Committee. As for excuses, I now see I don't need to defend my group's actions, especially to you. In any case, I've already explained the reasoning behind what you've seen."

"Whatever," Naruto replied, turning to leave. "At least now I have the name of the shit-stain responsible for all of this. I can't wait to hear what the Chairman has to say when I tell him what I've seen."

To Naruto's ever growing surprise, this was met with a chuckle. "Go ahead," he heard, causing him to turn back around. "The Chairman has known of our practices for a long time, and understands what is necessary in enforcing the rules around here. He won't do a thing, and, even if he had a change of heart, knows that the loyalties of everyone here belong to me, not him. Should he try anything, we would all leave under the pretense that we could no longer effectively carry out our duties. It would just cause excessive trouble."

Hearing that, Naruto just stared at Kuyou, unsure if he was playing him or actually telling the truth. On one hand, the man had a lot to lose, and with his smugness, Naruto wouldn't put it past him that Kuyou thought he could be tricked easily. But, for what it was worth, Naruto couldn't detect any deceit in his voice, and that worried him, if only because he was usually good at it.

"You're lying."

Turning to his left, Naruto was surprised to see Mizore had stepped forward a bit. Sure, she looked nervous, but it was good to finally hear her voice.

"Oh?" asked Kuyou, leaning back in his chair a bit, eyebrow cocked. "Say you're right, that I am lying about our actions being completely sanctioned by the Chairman. That doesn't change anything else I said. I invite you to go and converse with any member here, and I guarantee that if given the choice, they'll go out with me and this organization than sit idly by, held back by restrictions instead of doing what needs to be done."

The girl just looked down at the floor at hearing this, and it angered Naruto to know the man had affected her. "Bullshit," he said, drawing all attention back to him. "Just because you say you're defending the school, doing what needs to be done to ensure the good of everyone, doesn't mean it's true. The people behind those bars back there are apparently the worst kind of people, and I don't know if that's just a lie, but in truth, you're no better, abducting and abusing them."

As he said this, Naruto notice the sour look on Kuyou's face at being compared to the prisoners. It just made him push his verbal attack.

"You say no one here would turn against you; is that because they truly respect you, or because you've made them fear you? Because you know what's right? That's how you operate, isn't it? In truth, you go after anyone who would go against you, don't you?"

"I don't fear being viewed as arrogant, Uzumaki-san. I find comfort in saying I know what's best for this school. And I know it's for the best to detain those who would destabilize the school by slandering those whom serve it and convincing them to desist. However, don't compare me to those low-life thugs I protect people from, and don't think for an instant that I rule with fear."

Naruto just scoffed and turned for the door once again, only to be halted by a peculiar question.

"Tell me, what's your stake in this whole situation, Uzumaki-san?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, already tired with Kuyou and just wanting to leave. Sure, he could just blow him off and ignore him, but the question intrigued him.

"I'm just curious as to why you care so much about how our detainees are treated. You've never met them, and as you said, there is no reason not to believe that they are innocent. The only conclusion I can draw is that you are concerned that your own students will fall victim to those who would wish to go against this school, and end up here. I could understand a normal staff member getting distressed about that, but there within lies an inconsistency to that logic. You are an abnormal case. As a temporary teacher, it is unlikely that you will come back when summer break ends. Truthfully, you could be dismissed by the end of the week."

Naruto saw where Kuyou was going with this now, and disagreed completely with what he was saying. It didn't matter if he left tomorrow or if his tenure lasted for the next few years. The blonde saw it as his duty to serve the students as best as he could, which included protecting their interests and ensuring they weren't mistreated.

"You're only a temporary teacher?"

Turning to Mizore, Naruto realized that he never had told them his stay was limited. He never saw reason to before, but now could see it was a mistake. There was hurt in Mizore's eyes, something that angered him. It just made him hate Kuyou more for not allowing him to come clean himself, though knew deep down he was more pissed at himself for leading all his friends to believe that he would be there for about as long as them.

Regarding her with softened facial feature, he simply said, "We'll talk later."

"Hmm."

The sound caused Naruto to know turn back to Kuyou, seeing a look of intrigue on his face. It made Naruto growl, as he thought Kuyou was treating this as a game. "It's a matter of principle," the blonde said bitterly. "Now if you don't mind, we're leaving."

"Good riddance. I feel obligated to tell you, though, that if you wish to bypass the cell blocks, simply go straight out the hall and through the first two intersections, then take a right. You should come out at the lobby and it should be simple to find your way from there."

"Right," Naruto said, appreciative that the man would give them instructions, though it didn't change how he felt about him. And without looking back, the two walked out the door, oblivious of the smirk on Kuyou's face.

"I've never quite encountered anyone like you, Uzumaki-san," he said to himself. "You might just require some looking into."

/

The two easily found the exit following Kuyou's instructions, and, while they were regarded with suspicion, they moved swiftly through the dark corridors and were left undisturbed. However, there was an uneasy tension between the two.

As they exited, passing the two strange guards, and continued their trek into the woods and back home, Naruto wanted to say something, to maybe explain himself to Mizore somehow, but he didn't know how to start or if she even wanted to hear it. Fortunately, she save him the trouble of having to think of something.

"Were you ever going to tell us?" she asked. Naruto remained silent, though, as he didn't even really know. "Would we all just wake up one morning to find you gone with no explanation, no goodbye?"

"I wouldn't just leave you guys like that," the blonde said, annoyed that she would even think such a thing, but not showing it. She didn't need to think he was getting angry at her.

"Then what would have happened?"

It was clear that Mizore was upset, and Naruto felt the need to put her at ease. "As soon as I got word of a replacement being found, I would have told you guys. There was no point in making you guys constantly worry about me leaving."

"But maybe we could have done something," Mizore insisted. "We could have convinced the Chairman that you were the best person for this job."

"You're missing the point; I took this job because I knew it was temporary and not likely to last long. I miss my village, and I won't hesitate to go back when I'm done here. Don't get me wrong, I'll miss you all when I leave, but we all would have separated eventually."

Naruto had said that a bit harsher than he had intended to, realizing this after the fact by Mizore's shocked face. Slowly tears began to form in her eyes as she looked away, reality finally hitting her.

Naruto immediately regretted what he had said, and his look of annoyance quickly shifted to one of concern. He quickly approached the girl and put a comforting hand on her shaking shoulder to calm her. In response, she swung around and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him. He could feel a damp spot forming and began internally berating himself. Cautiously, he also held her, and began whispering in her ear.

"I'm sorry," he sighed out. "But the thought of having to leave you guys, my friends, makes me mad. It's not that I prefer my friends back home to you, but I have responsibilities back home, and have to leave you."

The blonde then came upon a self-realization.

"I think that's the main reason that, as much as you want, I can't enter a relationship with you. As is, it's hard enough leaving you. If we were to become more, I don't think I could bear the knowledge that I would have to leave you here alone, if only because you would be hurt more because of it. And the bottom line is, I wouldn't be able to have you come back with me, even if you wanted to, so don't ask."

For a few minutes more, the two stayed like this, until Mizore finally stopped shaking. "Is there a chance I'll ever see you again after you leave?" she asked, head still buried.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Please understand, if there were a way I could make everything work out, I wouldn't hesitate to do it. But as it is, this is the way things are. And personally, I would rather you hate me than love me at the moment, if only to save yourself some pain. I'm sorry."

"I can't hate you," she said, looking up to him with sad blue eyes. Truthfully, it was endearing, but it made Naruto all the more disappointed.

"Then please, just be my friend, and nothing more. Promise me that."

He received a reluctant nod.

"Thank you," he said, finally letting her go. She lingered a bit longer, but also complied. "If you could, please tell the others what I told you. You don't have to immediately, but whenever you feel is right."

"Okay," she nodded, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. Without a second thought, Naruto wiped it away with his thumb, causing the girl to blush. He didn't know why he did it.

To avoid thinking about it, he said, "Let's get you home. We can hang out some other day, but I have things to do."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I need to have a little talk with the Chairman," he stated, his voice now steeled, his eyes determined. "And please don't follow me this time."

/

The sound of a pen scratching on paper was the only one in the Chairman's office, reverberating off the walls as the man went through paper work, glowing eyes unmoving as he regarded his current task. The only pauses came when the man went to dip his pen in its ink well or when he moved on to a different paper.

Finished with his current paper, the Chairman moved it off to a side stack for completed work and once again dipped his pen, ready to move on to the next sheet. However, he halted himself mid-way, hand and pen floating in the air for but a moment before he returned the writing utensil to its base and rose from his seat. Folding his arms behind his back, he approached the giant window that overlooked the campus, staring out past his reflection to view all that he was responsible for. Down below, he could see small groups of students milling about, and it was clear that they were all happy with the company they had. It brought a small smile to his obscured face.

It quickly vanished, though, as he then commanded seemingly no one to, "Come in."

Behind him, the large double doors opened, revealing Naruto. He had seemingly taken the Chairman's apparent omniscience as a given, as instead of even mild surprise his face only held complete seriousness and even a bit of rage.

"I take it you and Kuyou didn't get along," the chairman said offhandedly as Naruto closed the door behind him, making the blond narrow his gaze at the man a bit.

"I have but one question for you. Please, just tell me the truth," replied the teacher as he approached the desk. "Did you know what those people are doing to the students down there?"

The man sensed something akin to hope in his voice, though it was mostly masked by the reluctance to ask the question in the first place. "Why ask questions you don't want answers to? I would have figured you to take at least that lesson along with you after your meeting."

"Just answer the question!" Naruto shouted, slamming his palms on the large desk, enraged that the Chairman was dancing around the subject, not to deny Naruto the truth, but to give the blonde the chance to deny himself. It didn't help that the man had his back turned to him.

The latter of those grievances was rectified as the man turned, eying just how disheveled Naruto looked with both his minor injuries and the wet spot on his dirtied shirt. He quickly formed a few ideas on what had happened, though didn't voice them. Instead, he once again took his seat. "You would do well to remember I know everything going on in groups affiliated with this school."

"Then why didn't you do anything?" asked Naruto, feeling sick to know Kuyou hadn't lied and that his behavior was actually sanctioned by the Chairman.

"While I freely admit that Kuyou-san is a bit... heavy-handed in his approach, there is no denying the he and his group do good work. As they always have. They keep the students in check and do what others may have neither the resources nor drive to. In short, they are necessary."

"But to give them so much power," Naruto tried again.

"As unfortunate as it is, some of our students can't help but unleash their primal side every now and then. Tell me, if the people this school needs protecting from won't abide by the rules, how can those protecting the school effectively do so I they're being held back? How does one beat their opponent if their playing two different games? In a setting like this, things like proper protocol and bureaucracy are meaningless."

"I hardly see how a police force can be effective if the members of it see themselves as above the law. How does that help their social presence at all?"

"You fail to see how the organization is meant to operate," the Chairman sighed. "The average student should never have to deal with them. Only club leaders and those who threaten this school ever really meet them, or if someone is being scouted."

"What about the innocents that may be unjustly arrested by those guys? It's bound to happen with no regulations!"

The Chairman remained silent. Fed up with this, Naruto just growled and prepared to walk out. He was stopped at the door by a few last words. "You know, as a member of the faculty, you also play by a slightly different set of rules."

Although he didn't turn around, the blonde paused to hear the man out. "Most members of the faculty are far too busy to do this, and being that we are, in fact, understaffed, it is partially why the Student Safety Committee was formed in the first place. Since you seem so determined, though, you should know you have the right to intervene in any active investigations, so as to try and prove a students innocence. You should also know that if you apprehend a student guilty of misdeeds before the Committee, you can detain them for an indefinite amount of time to do with as you see fit, where they can't actively get to them. Sort of like an asylum. However, they do have the right to challenge your custody of any student. Doing this could also make you a lot of enemies."

"Like that really matters," was all the blonde said as he exited the room, leaving the Chairman to stare at the door.

With a forlorn look on his face, he looked back to the window, and noticed that all the student had gone indoors as the sun began to set. Deep down, he couldn't help but think he had just facilitated the beginning of a war that would change the whole school. For better or for worse, he didn't know.

/

And there you have it. Once again, thanks for all those who made this possible: Lykaos, Chuck, and you, the viewer, for both making this such a success and being patient for this to come out. Now, to read some reviews, though, to save some time, only those posted after chapter seven was will be read.

Quathis: "Well, [Chapter 7] does explain a few things, liking the mystery, and the potential this gives is enormous. For some reason, I can almost see Madara popping up at Youkai Academy for a battle."

Unfortunately, no, this isn't going to happen. Madara is dead, and won't appear again. Though, there will be a return to Konoha arc in the near future (storywise, at least), and one in the distant future. So, there's that.

Drust: "I skipped all of the flash back... sorry but it was about two people who are not in this fic."

Fair enough. I personally didn't like the chapter, though I felt it built on some background knowledge that may be implemented in the future. Still, I respect you decision.

(A bunch of people saying they enjoy the story and can't wait for my return):

Well, I'm back, and I hope this meets your expectations.

Anonymous: (I'll just read an excerpt) "Why is Tsukune having a harem? I just don't see how it makes much sense in his character."

Quite simply, creative license. Other than that, though, I see Naruto being impressionable on Tsukune, so seeing Naruto with multiple woman will at least open him up a bit to the idea. Of couse, a consensus among the little love triangle (quadrangle?) he will have will need to be reached. Expect lulz aplenty.

ArchAng3l: "I didn't particularly like [Chapter 7] because I thought it was a bit unnecessary, but whatever."

Agreed in that I didn't like it either, but if you look closely, you may see that it did serve a purpose. Don't feel as if you have to go back and read it though, as I'll make it apparent again in a later chapter.

(More of the like):

Read the above.

(People praising Chuck's surprising ability to turn something into gold after being given shit):

Chuck actually did read your reviews (after I made him) and is quite pleased. Rest assured he'll return to help out whenever he can.

LuckyShadowWolf: "Yay, Naruto vs. the Student Police. Heh heh heh. Those poor, poor kids."

I have a feeling this didn't quite meet your expectations. Don't worry, though. The battle's just beginning, and you will probably be gratified (though only after being disappointed more and more. Read: build up). You pretty much in the same boat for now, Quathis and Slytherin's Pimp.

Foxeatfox: "Great story, though I wish you didn't make this a harem and just stuck with Mizore."

Sorry, but I already have a (less popular) story like that, and it doesn't fit my style to do the same thing multiple times. I like to branch out with the pairings and usually uptake the more rare ones (I.e.: NarutoxShizuka). So, yeah, that's not going to change. If this turn into a single pairing thing, though, I would go with the aforementioned pairing, due to the fact that it is rare, and it's sort of what's on the label.

negrador (Anonymous): "You're one of the best writers I have seen so far and I hope you continue this story to the end."

Why thank you, though, truthfully, I don't perceive myself as being that good. Top thirty percentile, sure, but over that is pushing it a bit.

So that's it. I hope you've all enjoyed this and will-... Wait a second. There's more.

negrador (Anonymous) (Cont.): "Also a suggestion: could you make an omake about when Shizuka dresses up as a masked hero? It would be funny to see Naruto's reaction."

As it just so happens, I have a policy of accepting omake requests dating back to near the start of my career that no one ever takes me up on. So, thank you, whoever you are, for being the first to take me up on this, and let's give it a shot.

/

And so, time passes. Naruto had begun his patrol with the help of kage bunshins, apprehending trouble-makers and at-risk students and holding them in his small office, something they didn't understand was a sort of asylum for them which should be appreciated.

While the student police had yet to move against him, it was clear they were becoming more aggressive. More than one student had gone missing without a trace, and the rest of the student body was beginning to panic, mainly because there was no explanation they could think of for the abductions. Naruto was also starting to feel the pressure. While he was an impressive specimen of a shinobi, he could still only do so much. Realistically, there was no way he could help all those who needed it, no matter how much he wanted to. He needed to find a more permanent solution to the corruption of the committee.

He had confided this in Shizuka, and she seemed worried for his well-being. She thought that he was tiring himself out with all this work, and said that if Kuyou did try something, he may not be ready. Naruto argued that he was fine and was actually preparing himself for any movement, adding that if he wasn't willing to protect the students, who was he supposed to suspect to do it. That seemed to make her think, and he was worried that she might do something drastic.

That thought would have to wait, though, as there was a more immediate problem. Off in the distance, the blonde could hear the sounds of struggle. It could have been anything from a simple scuffle, to one of Kuyou's goons beating another student, but whatever it was, it was probably trouble. Without wasting a moment more, the blonde took to the trees, racing towards the disturbance.

He got there in no time, though was surprised by what he saw; there were two students, both with several small scratches on their bodies, tied to a tree with a whip. However, it was what was standing over them that really caught the shinobi off guard, or who, for that matter.

It was Shizuka, a small, cloth mask in place of her glasses and what appeared to be a utility belt hanging off her waist. She had her arms crossed over her chest and simply appeared to be waiting. Not really sure what was going on, Naruto cautiously dropped down from the tree and emerged from the foliage.

Shizuka noticed him and nodded inclined her head to him, asking him, in a strained, deep voice, "You Uzumaki-san?"

"Uhhh... yeah," he replied, not knowing what else to say.

She just looked over her shoulder at the two students. "Caught these two trying to start a fight. But a stop to it as quickly as I could. Friend said you could use the help."

"Thanks," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. He noticed she was trying to keep her sentences as curt as possible, and had yet to let up on the fake, menacing voice. He shook his head, wanting to put a stop to this charade. "Wait, tell me what..."

She cut him off.

"Who am I? I am a predator of the night, stopping those who would do evil if only to save them form a fate worse than death. I am a paw of justice, stamping out the corrupt and rewarding the saintly. I am your fellow defender of this school and its integrity against the Student Safety Commission. Simply, I am the Striped Claw, and I will make it my mission to..."

"Shizuka-chan, I know it's you," the blonde said in a deadpan, wanting to stop the embarrassing monologue, especially since she chose to pose ridiculously as she spoke. Even the students she had tied up were sweat-dropping. She just looked at him, nervous.

"I know not of this Shizuka. I am the Striped Claw, the prowling cat that will stop the mice that are the Student Police Committee."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. While he could have simply said something like she was wearing the same style of clothing she did every day, or that her mask barely covered her face, or that her distinctive hairstyle gave her away, he decided to go with the most damning piece of evidence he could. "Your tail's sticking out."

The woman paused and looked behind her. Indeed, her tail was whipping about in excitement, only to freeze in shock. She just turned back to him and whined. "Come on, Naruto-chan! I'm just trying to help! Please let me wear the costume! And keep the name! Please!"

Naruto just sighed and looked at the bewildered students before he untied them and dragging them to his office, Shizuka in tow. This was going to take some getting used to.

/

And that really is the end. Tell me what you thought now that I'm back, both of the story itself and the short little omake. Thanks to negrador for the idea, and if you have one, I'll try to include into the story. Please note, this should not necessarily be taken as canon for the story. Once again, thanks to everyone who makes this story possible and being so understanding. Until next time, this has been your fellow author, bringing you 11,712 words to pass the time with, the longest chapter yet.


	10. Our Reasons

Holy shit I'm alive! Yeah, sorry for the delay, but there are a lot of reasons for it. For one, I broke my arm last summer in a motorcycle accident, so I wasn't really in a position to type. It was far too annoying. My laptop broke, didn't want to get that fixed, and I sure as hell wasn't using my piece of shit desktop, so there's another reason. Truthfully, I got tired of writing, so even after all that was sorted, I didn't really have a drive to write. Of course, the big reason was college. Applying, and after that, scholarship essays. So, yeah, the universe is conspiring against you all using me as a medium. But are you really surprised. Anyway, onto why you're here.

/

Chapter 10: Our Reasons

/

It had been four days. Four days since Naruto and Mizore had met with Kuyou. Four days since since they discovered the unfortunate truth behind the Student Safety Commission. Three days since the new teacher began his round-up of any student he could find with the aid of his bunshins early in the morning. And it had been just two days since the rumors started going around about how the replacement gym teacher was fighting with the aforementioned student Safety Commission, sparked by sightings of several representatives from the group waiting outside the small office overlooking a hill that, to date, only one student had been stupid enough to try to escape from by jumping through the window and falling down said hill. Of course, the jagged glass in the still broken window and the fake blood Naruto had placed at the bottom of the hill were good deterrents for the students. The fact that they were also wanted by the Kuyou and his hounds and the fact that Naruto was the one who kept them at bay also helped to earn the students' cooperation, as they quickly learned that the blond was the lesser of two evils in this situation, despite his harsh retrieval methods, of which there were also rumors flying around.

"Did you hear about that fight that got broken up this morning?" asked one student to his friend at lunch.

"Oh, you mean that one between that huge senior and the intimidating freshman?"

"Yeah," the original student replied, taking a bite of his lunch before continuing as he chewed. "But get this, a buddy of mine was there, and he said that the freshman was actually winning the fight. He got the senior on the floor and just started laying into him as the senior struggled to get him off."

As he spoke, the student began pantomiming the actions as he described them, unintentionally flinging food out of his mouth in excitement and onto his friend, who was less than appreciative. With a disgusted look on his face, he calmly brushed the saliva and rice off of his person and decided to just keep the conversation going instead of lecturing his overzealous on proper eating habits. "Man, sounds brutal. And I've seen that senior; It's hard to believe anyone could take him down."

"I know, right? Apparently there was blood everywhere, and my buddy says that it looked like the the freshman was actually gonna kill the guy."

At this point, the second student began looking at his friend more speculatively, as he slowly ate his own food. He thought about interjecting momentarily, but decided to let his friend finish before telling him that his 'buddy' was probably full of shit.

"But get this, my buddy says he saw a couple of guys he's never seen before, all dressed in these black uniforms, moving to break up the fight. He thinks they were Student Safety Commission."

"You don't say?" said the student, looking more interested now. He still questioned the veracity of the story, but it was interesting none the less. "You don't really see those guys around often. Or ever, really. Aren't they supposed to be some shadow group or something?"

"I don't know, but I trust my buddy, and I hear a lot more people have started to see them recently."

"Do you now?" asked the speculative student, unable to keep the sarcasm from bleeding into his voice any longer. Despite that, his more energetic friend didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, but here's the best part; you know that new gym teacher, Uzumaki-sensei, right?"

"You mean that brat that's younger than us but still acts like he's superior because he's a teacher."

For the first time the student's friend looked at him as if he was annoyed by what he had said. His rebuttal was simply to say, "Come on, man, he's not that bad. Besides, he makes gym pretty fun."

"I'm not saying he's a bad teacher," said the dissenter, also getting annoyed, "but his attitude is something that pisses me off. And I'm not the only one. There's a bunch of people who think he takes himself way too seriously for his own good."

"Yeah, well it doesn't help when people like you disrespect him like that. He's gotta control his classes, and that's difficult when people like you refuse to give him a chance just because of his age."

At this point, the dissenting student's eyes narrowed dangerously, but instead of acting, he rubbed his temples and released a tired sigh. He was used to these kinds of arguments with his friend, and didn't really see need to get so worked up about it. "Whatever man," he said, calmed down.

"You're just mad you got nailed with a wrench that first day and got knocked out." It seemed his friend was determined to get one last jab in, though, earning a glare as he leaned back from his hunched over position and took a drink of water.

"Just get on with your stupid story," the student said, almost yelling in annoyance and causing his friend to lean forward again in excitement as he remembered what he was saying prior to their argument. Before he began again, though, he couldn't help but smile as he heard his friend mumble about how he was getting tired of dodgeball.

"Anyway, Uzumaki-sensei shows up, appearing from fucking nowhere, and before anyone knows what's going on, he buries his knee in the freshman's face. Now, my buddy's a good twenty feet back, surrounded by a bunch of other people all chatting about the whole event up until then, and he swears he can clearly hear the crunch of the guy's nose breaking, and there's blood everywhere as he goes flying and lands on his back and begins rolling around in pain, clutching at his face and everything. And then as this is going on, the senior, get's up. Now mind you, this guy's nearly a foot taller than Uzumaki-sensei, and as he stands, he's just blindly swinging, not knowing Uzumaki-sensei is the guy in front of him with his back turned. Before he can even touch him, Uzumaki-sensei spins around and kicks him in the fucking head, and that guy just goes down\, and a bunch of people think he might be dead. Anyway, Uzumaki-sensei just picks the guy up, throws him over his shoulder, then marches over to the freshman, picks him up by the collar, then makes him walk all the way to his office."

"Uh-huh," said the speculative friend, having finished his lunch and moved to prop up his head on one of his hands. "And what happened to the Student Safety Commission?"

"That's just it, when my buddy looks back around, they're just gone." It was obvious that the student was still excited about all of this, as evidence by how his eyes seemed to glimmer with joy and the big smile on his face. Still smiling, he moved quickly to finish his lunch.

His friend wasn't as easily pleased, though, as he sighed and began to try to dissuade his friend from believing all of this. "Okay, let's assume everything you were told happened, that Uzumaki-sensei broke up that fight and, presumably, brought them back to his office like I know you think he did because he's on a power kick or whatever. He was in class after that. There's no fucking way he'd leave two guys like that alone after they nearly killed each other unless he's the biggest dumbass in the world. Also, I've seen that office from the outside, and there's no way he'd be able to keep those two far apart enough so that they didn't start fighting again. Now, I'm not saying that what you were told didn't happen, but what you think happened after that didn't."

As the student finished his explanation, his friend had finished his lunch and they both got up from the table, his friend letting out a dejected sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right. Still, I wish I could've been there to see that fight."

"Yeah, that sounded badass," was his friend's plain reply. As the two walked off, their conversation apparently over, a new one was starting a couple of tables away based on what the group seated there had overheard.

"Do you think that's true?" asked Yukari, trying to contain her own excitement. While it was true that she was mature for her age, she still found stories like the one she had just heard immensely entertaining and revered it with a child-like wonder. That was doubly true when said story was about someone she admired. In the words of the two that had just left, she thought it sounded badass.

Seeing Yukari in her current state put smiles on the faces of the others, but they found their own joy to be tinged with something akin anxiety. They had known Naruto barely longer than Yukari had, but they still found their own need to be worried for the young teacher after hearing that story. Still, they all did their best to hide their true feelings both from Yukari and each other and instead attempted to go along with the good mood propagated by the young witch.

"What they said is probably true," said Tsukune, chuckling a bit to hide his unease. Being a human surrounded largely by those who would see him as little more than a nice meal still hadn't escaped his mind completely, and left him with a permanent feeling of anxiety, but hearing about Naruto's recent exploits didn't help. He viewed the blond favorably and had been helped more than once by him, plus he was friendly enough, perhaps more so than a teacher should be with a student, and maybe that contributed to the trepidation Tsukune felt around Naruto. Then there was the fact the Naruto had also shown to be a shockingly violent individual. The first time he saw him he effortlessly broke Saizou's collar bone, and that was just for not answering a question. He broke the other arm defending him and Moka the first time. Then with this recent fight he broke one student's nose and flatout knocked the other one out. It all painted a worrisome picture when Tsukune took into account that they had all broken some rule except for that initial instance, and that Naruto was apparently now on the hunt for anyone breaking the rules if the rumors were anything to go by. What worried the boy was that he was human, which was against the rules, and he feared what Naruto would do if he found out.

"I'm not sure about the whole office thing, though. You're the only one of us that's been there, right, Kurumu-chan? Is it really that small that those two students wouldn't be able to be kept far enough apart?" Moka was the next to voice her thoughts, and her worries stemmed largely from the same source as Tsukune's. She knew he was human, but no one else did. She saw Naruto as a friend, but his intolerance instilled fear in her with regard to Tsukune. Besides that, though, she didn't think that he should be treating any student like that in the first place, and that it reflected poorly on him.

Kurumu sighed when faced with Moka's inquiry, reliving her experience in that office. "It was pretty cramped, and it was also freezing because some idiot broke the window. But besides that, I found that I couldn't move; he just kept staring at me, his arms crossed, almost as if daring me to make a move to escape. I don't even think he blinked that whole time." Kurumu's anxiety came more from the fact that things seemed to be getting more unstable. Originally, Naruto was simply an obstacle to her, but in the following weeks, she saw him as someone who wanted to make the school a better place to fulfill the mission of integrating them all into human society, and that he had maybe become too close to them. Now, though, it seemed that he was becoming more proactive in his little vision for the school, and it was ticking some of the more volatile troublemakers off from what she had heard in passing. Then, there were the rumors she had heard from the girls in her homeroom. They all involved the new gym teacher intervening in something and sightings of people in black clothing who just seemed to appear and disappear. This new, rouge element was apparently the Student Safety Commission, and the fact that they were seemingly interested in Naruto and his actions made her uneasy. Thus, knowing that Mizore probably knew him best, Kurumu turned to her and asked, "Say, those guys mentioned something about the Student Safety Commission. You don't think he did something to annoy them, do you?"

Of course, the subject of Kurumu's question is what had Mizore on edge. The meeting she and Naruto had had with this Student Safety Commission was still clear in her mind, nut how could it not be? She'd never seen Naruto so angry, and that in itself scared her, because she knew he would act and that Kuyou would respond. She felt that Naruto would win the war that would ultimately take place, and she shared a similar mindset with him, understood why he needed to act, but she didn't know how much of himself he would have to give to obtain his victory, nor if he would ever truly recover from what the Student Safety Commission may or may nor have in store.

Though, from what the girl was able to piece together, Naruto had won the few initial skirmishes for students, but did he even know that Kuyou had people out trying to get the students? Were they even really competing as of yet, or were they just watching him? The possibilities disturbed Mizore deeply, but she didn't let it show. In regards to Kurumu's question, they didn't know that she had actually met the head of the Student Safety Commission, and though she felt bad lying straight to the others, she also felt that they didn't exactly need to know what had happened, either. If Naruto wanted to tell them, that was fine, she would just have to ask him to omit her involvement so they didn't find out. It also gave her an excuse to talk to him. She also had yet to tell them about what Naruto had said about leaving, but she just needed to find the right time for that. She decided that she would fulfill that promise by the end of the week and get it over with. But, back to the issue, Mizore just answered with, "I haven't heard anything from him, and I hate assuming he did something, but if he did, I doubt it was unwarranted."

"Yeah," replied Yukari with a good-natured grin on her face, clearly not plagued by any of the worries the others had. "I haven't heard much about the Student Safety Commission, but everything I have isn't good. I wouldn't be surprised if Naruto-sensei confronted them with this and that they're just throwing a hissy-fit."

This was met with general agreement, but the young witch detected the half-heartedness the compliance came with, causing her to drop her smile and view them all through narrowed eyes. She could sense that they were all preoccupied with other thoughts, and correctly deduced that they had some form of doubt regarding Naruto and the current situation.

"Come on guys, you just need to have more faith in Naruto-sensei!"

The comment caught everyone else off guard, allowing Yukari to continue with their full attention focused on her.

"He'll know what to do, and he won't let the Student Safety Commission get away with whatever he disagrees with. If you're worried about the outcome, then we'll just have to help him, won't we?"

Again, Yukari smiled, hoping to put everyone at ease, and it seemed to work, as they all visibly relaxed, though she knew they still had their doubts. Luckily Tsukune spoke up next to back her.

"You're right," he said, exhaling a sigh that contained much of his tension regarding the whole situation. "Before we get all worked up about this, we need to find out what the situation is, or if one even exists. After classes, we should go to Naruto-sensei's office and try to find out what's going on. Agreed?"

Everyone gave their consent, though Mizore made a note to herself to try and find Naruto before that and ask to be omitted from whatever story he may tell the others. As they got up and went their separate ways back to class, the girl decided now would be the best time to do that.

/

Naruto was exhausted. For three days, he had maintained a contingent of bunshins around the school grounds. There were the ones he had patrolling to keep an eye out for any disturbances, and he just dispelled these and rushed to their locations to put down and trouble personally. There was the one he kept in the gym to oversee classes that he dispelled at the end of the day. One was kept in his office to guard the students he kept there both from each other and the Student Safety Commission, and he only dispelled that one when he got too tired from patrolling personally and needed to take a quick rest. So between the compounded memories of bunshins, his own physical exertion, and bad sleeping habits, Naruto's exhaustion was both physical and mental.

Of course, if he could find a way to not be in so many places at once, he would, because he was sure his presence in multiple places at once was raising some questions, if not among the student body at large and staff, then among the Student Safety Commission, the members of which would undoubtedly inform Kuyou. Then again, with his current state of mind, Naruto didn't really care about that.

As the blond walked down the concourse to meet with Shizuka (a meeting he was unaware he was running late to), oblivious to the confused stares of students who could have sworn they just saw him not thirty seconds ago in the gym, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed. As much as wanted to attribute it to his tired state, his training wouldn't let him, especially because he had the feeling for the full three days. This thought in mind, Naruto stretched and tried to stifle a yawn as he entered a more open area.

He almost didn't notice the person in front of him calling his name until he nearly ran into them. Through bleary eyes, he recognized the person's long purple hair and cute face. "Shirayuki-chan?" he asked tiredly, then, as an afterthought, "Have you been following me?" despite the fact that the girl had approached him from the front.

"Uzumaki-sensei," the girl replied, ignoring the question in favor of inquiring how the young teacher was doing after seeing his ragged appearance.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," he said, clearly not giving his full attention to the girl as his eyes darted around the area that, to anyone else that would have been there, was void of anyone sans the two of them (and the nonexistent spectator). But to Naruto, he still had this irritating feeling at the back of his head that told him that he was being watched. Again, he stifled a yawn as he turned back towards Mizore as she stared speaking again.

To the girl, it was clear that the blond was not doing fine and voiced her opinion. "Fine? Last I checked, barely being able to stand isn't what constitutes as 'fine'. And look at those bags under your eyes," Mizore said, getting closer to examine him.

As she brought up the sign of his sleep deprivation, Naruto self-consciously reached up to touch under his eye, but his hand was pushed away as she leaned in closer. His attention was now focused solely on her as she continued fussing over him.

"Your eyes are completely blood-shot, and you look so pale. Earlier in class, your aim was off, too. You nearly hit a bunch of students that weren't out. It's obvious that you aren't getting any sleep. Just how long have you been up?"

"It's only been nine hours," he replied, not entirely lying. He took a thirty minute nap at about three in the morning, but by then his last nap had been twenty hours ago. It was clear by Mizore's expression that she didn't believe him, but her features quickly softened as she expressed her concern.

"How long do you plan to do this for? You're spreading yourself thin as it is watching over the students that you take in, but then you have classes, and undoubtedly you're out all night on the lookout for any trouble, and it's great that you want to stand up against the Student Safety Commission, but how is what you're doing going to stop them. If they really wanted to get into a fight of detaining students they clearly have the numbers to beat you. Right now they're just letting you run yourself into the ground to prove to you how pointless it is so you'll give up."

By this point the distance between the two had closed even more, and Mizore had grasped his arms to keep Naruto's attention on her and keep him from running away. The blond could now clearly see the worry in the girl's deep blue eyes, as well as hear it carried in her voice. He was unable to match her gaze and looked away, knowing she was right.

"But what else can I do? As a teacher, I need to protect all of my students, no matter what the cost to me is. You understand that, don't you?"

At this point he brought his head back up, determination burning in his eyes.

"I know that this isn't going to stop Kuyou, but that's not the point of it. I'm sending a message, saying that I'm not going to let him lay a finger on another student. I just need to wait for them to make a move that oversteps their boundaries, then I can put a stop to them."

"But they can outlast you," Mizore tried to plead, now fully embracing Naruto with head resting on his chest. She didn't mean to be so forward, especially after what he had told her last time, but the girl found herself caught up in the moment, and didn't fully realize what she was doing. Besides that, she still harbored feelings for him.

With her ear up against his chest, Mizore could also hear Naruto's heartbeat, thumping erratically in his chest, not from their proximity, but from the stress for staying up for as long as he had. It made her blush, regardless. As for the blond, had he been in a normal state of mind, he would have tried to push the girl away, especially because they were out in the open. However, it was clear that there was no one around, despite what his nagging feeling was telling him. In any event, he wasn't thinking straight, either, and didn't have the forethought at the moment to realize it would be really bad if someone were to catch them like this. Instead, he ignored his commonsense, freed his arms, and draped them around Mizore, causing her face to become even redder.

Looking up, she said, "I'm worried about you." Unconsciously, both of them brought their faces closer together, until they could feel the others breath strongly on their lips. A few more millimeters, and they would be kissing. However, it was Mizore, not Naruto, that realized what was happening and hesitated, before slowly pulling away. Looking back at him, she saw a slightly confused look on his face, before she released him and stepped further back, allowing him arms to drop back down limply and swing a little. Mizore could see that Naruto didn't fully understand the situation, and despite what she may have wanted, couldn't bring herself to take advantage of his altered state of consciousness.

Not entirely sure what had just transpired, Naruto still had enough sense to see that Mizore was looking a bit conflicted, and assumed it had something to due with what she was saying prior. "I'm sorry," he said, drawing her attention back to him, "but I can't stop now. I need to keep going for now, just need to hold out a little longer, and I know they'll try something that I can bring to the Chairman."

Mizore just shook her head, both at his stubbornness and in surprise at just how far gone he was at the moment. Both made her realize that arguing with him was pointless. It didn't make her bitter, though. Instead, she held her head up and said, "I can't stop you from doing what you think is right, but just remember, you have people who are willing to help and give you support if you need it."

At hearing this, Naruto put on a goofy grin, and Mizore wondered why he could apparently process this but not their intimate. Was he testing her? Had she passed? With thoughts like this in mind, the girl began to walk away before remembering what she had found Naruto for in the first place and turning back around to find him still standing there with the same grin on his face. Idly, she wondered if he actually did understand anything she had said in the last five minutes.

"Before I forget, we plan to visit you after classes to ask you how you're doing and what's going on with the Student Safety Commission. Could you not mention my involvement when we ask?"

Naruto still had the brainpower to assume why she might want that, and really didn't have a problem with it, though a visit to his office might be a bit troublesome all things considered. Still, he gave Mizore a thumbs-up and said, "No problem," prompting her to smile and bow in appreciation before walking off. Somehow, he also had the brainpower to wonder why she wasn't in class at the moment and who her teacher was, and if they would give her a pass this on the issue time.

And it was had this moment, as Mizore walked fully out of view, that Naruto realized he missed his his meeting with Shizuka and began panicking. Or he would have, had he possessed the competence to realize that he left a person he saw as a good friend waiting up with no explanation as to his absence and may very well be worried for his safety. He did not, however, currently possess this level of competence, and, as it was, a strange look came to his face that appeared to be a mixture of confusion, apathy, and fatigue as he just stood in the middle of the path.

The sound of someone calling his name caused the blond to look over his shoulder and slowly turn to face Shizuka as she approached him. "Shizuka-chan?" he asked, almost as if to confirm it was her, then, "Have you been following me?"

"What?" the teacher replied, tilting her head in confusion. "No, I came to find you after you didn't show up for lunch."

"Oh," Naruto said, his face temporarily lighting up as if he had forgotten about the meeting in the two seconds since his friend had shown up. It quickly became more listless as the conversation continued.

"At first, I thought you were just out throwing yourself at the Student Safety Commission after hearing all the rumors," Shizuka's face took on a concerned for her friend as she said this, but quickly reverted to her characteristic cheerful expression as she continued, "but then I saw you talking to one of your students, so I guess you were just giving her some advice, so I hung back for a bit. But the strange thing is, I've never seen her before. Is she a second year?

"Shirayuki-chan?" Naruto asked, slowly becoming more animated and engaged in the conversation as Shizuka stimulated him. "No, I'm pretty sure she's a freshman."

"Shirayuki? The name sounds familiar, but I'm sure I would have remembered the girl." As Shizuka said this, she brought her hand up to her chin in a thoughtful expression. It was then that Naruto realized something, causing him to raise an eyebrow as he regarded his friend.

"Hey, why aren't you in class, Shizuka-chan?"

"Hm? I have a free period at this time, remember?" the bespectacled teacher's expression once again became concerned. "What about you? I know you have a class. Surely you didn't leave them to take care of that Shirayuki-san?"

"No, I just haven't been teaching today," Naruto thoughtlessly blurted out, causing Shizuka to reel back in shock at the confession. He then added, "Or at all, this week." The cat-like woman was about to berate Naruto on how he needed to be more respectable and be there for his classes. Before she could, however, Naruto cut back in, realizing that what he said wasn't a sufficient explanation and needed some elaboration. "Oh, but don't worry, I have clones watching over the class."

Naruto did not, in fact, currently have a clone watching over his class, having forgotten that he had it dispel half-way through the day. As it were, his last few classes that day would stay lined up, confused, but too afraid to move, thinking their teacher may be hiding and just waiting for one of them to get out of order to make an example.

Shizuka was a bit surprised at the revelation that Naruto could make copies of himself, but quickly remembered what his previous vocation was and instead returned to her happy state. "Well, as long as you have it taken care of, that's good, but you probably should be watching over them personally. As a teacher, you owe your students that much.

"If you say so, Shizuka-chan," the blond replied, yawning once more.

"However, I suppose that's not important now. What I really want to talk to you about is your current activities." Naruto noticed his friend become much more serious than her usual self, and knew this conversation was headed down a recently traveled road.

"You mean me fighting with the Student Safety Commission?"

"Wait, you mean you're actually fighting with them?!" Shizuka almost screamed with shock as she regarded her friend with disapproval. "I was just going to comment on you staying out too late to watch over the community here! I didn't think it would be because you went and did something stupid like that!"

"Ah, Shizuka-chan," Naruto whined, but Shizuka cut him off.

"No, Naruto-chan, I don't think you fully understand what you've done," the severity of Shizuka's tone actually managed to shock Naruto in his current state and brought him back into focus for a bit. "I heard from the Chairman that you went to meet with the Student Safety Commission," she admitted, her voice becoming quiet. "I can only imagine what you saw, and for that, I blame myself. I should have just told you about them when I asked."

"It's no-..." Naruto tried to say, but he was cut off as Shizuka put a finger to his lips to silence him. Normally, this would have embarrassed both of them, but the atmosphere stifled any sense of intimacy this act carried.

"Please, Naruto-chan, let me finish. The reason I chose not to tell you anything was in a vain attempt to keep you as far away from them as possible. They have the resources to not only make trouble for anyone who challenges their authority, but truly the whole student body, and I knew that if I told you anything, you would be unsatisfied with what I had to say and seek out more information, and that you would come to disagree with their methods and feel the need to take action. By not telling you, I suppose I just allowed you to introduce yourself to the current leader of the Commission."

Naruto could tell that more information was coming, but, judging from the hanging silence, not without his input. So, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, he said, "Don't blame yourself. Like you said, I would have found out one way or another, and I would have taken action. As for everyone being affected by this, I'm afraid they're just going to have to deal with it. Kuyou is corrupt, and I can't just sit around and do nothing as he acts as judge, jury, and executioner against potentially innocent students without any real evidence or anyone to challenge him. Besides, if they get too out of hand, the Chairman will have to act."

Naruto punctuates his statement with a reassuring smile, but this quickly fell as he noticed Shizuka's small, bitter smile. "You're right, the chairman will eventually act if this escalates, but I'm afraid he'll be forced to side with the Student Safety Commission over you."

At hearing that, the blond looked at Shizuka feeling deeply betrayed at her words, but at seeing the sadness in her eyes, he decided to let her finish.

"The Commission's leash is long enough that it might as well be nonexistent, and they are well aware of their boundaries. They wouldn't have to get anywhere close to the edge in order for you to act and appear as the extremist that forced them to act. Besides that, the Chairman sees them as a necessary evil that, for all their faults, do work to improve student life by keeping those who would cause trouble away from the students who really do believe in the spirit of this school, or at least aren't against it. As for you, you're just a temporary replacement."

Hearing what Shizuka thought still hurt, but in the end, Naruto couldn't disagree with anything Shizuka said. Gritting his teeth and balling his fists in annoyance at the helplessness of it all, the blond voiced his thoughts. "Then I guess I'll just have to convince the Chairman otherwise. I'm sorry,but I just can't allow the Student Safety Commission to go on. I need to end them."

With that, Naruto turned on his heel and prepared to march off, feeling very conflicted about everything that had just happened. Before he could get anywhere, however, he felt Shizuka grab his arm and halt his progress.

"Let go," he said in a low voice.

"Naruto-chan, please lis-..." Shizuka was cut off as Naruto violently turned around, throwing her back a little and causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

"I said let go!" he yelled, scaring her. She could see the rage in his usually cheerful blue eyes, and she knew that her words were the cause for this change in her friend. This hurt her more than any strike could, and, try as she might, she couldn't stop the tears as they leaked out of the corners of her eyes and ran down her cheeks, nor could she hold I the sobs that shook her body.

Now, Naruto's actions were in part due to his own feelings of betrayal at Shizuka's words, but they were more so a result of a short temper caused by his fatigue. Seeing Shizuka's current state was a very sobering experience, and he quickly turned that anger on himself as he realized just what he had done. He would commit this image to memory and would never forget it, but that was for later. His features quickly softened, guilt taking anger's place, and, unable to say anything, he quickly rushed over to Shizuka's side and fell to his knees on front of her. Then, raising her chin so that she could look into his eyes and see that he was sorry for what he had done, he wrapped her in a warm embrace to show that he meant it and to calm her down. The last thing he wanted was for their friendship to end.

After a few minutes of sitting there, Shizuka finally managed to calm down, but neither one moved, to preoccupied with thinking of what they could have done differently to prevent what had happened. Eventually, Naruto remembered how to talk and, picking Shizuka back up to her feet, said, come on, let's find somewhere else to continue this."

/

The two found a more isolated location where they could continue their conversation. As they walked, Naruto brought up the issue that she was bound to miss her next class if they continued on. Shizuka reassured him that it was fine, and that she had left the students' assignment on the board. They remained silent after that until Naruto brought them back to what had just happened.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, but since everything around the two of them was so quiet, the words sounded unbelievably loud to Shizuka. "I shouldn't have been so violent with you. I mean, you're my friend, and I'm stupid to do anything to ruin that."

"No, I'm partly to blame as well," Shizuka said causing Naruto to cast a sideways glance at her as they walked together. "I can only imagine how stressed you are, it's clear you haven't gotten a good sleep in a long time, and my agitating you by telling you what you can't do didn't help." Here, Shizuka let out a nervous laugh as she scratched the back of her head. "And I kind of over-reacted when I fell."

It was Naruto's turn to laugh the incident off as he said, "Yeah, that really scared me. I thought I had really messed up back there."

Things lulled back into silence as the two walked on before Shizuka spoke again.

"Look, I hate to poke at wounds so quickly, but as your friend, I'm saying that that Student Safety Commission can't be disbanded; it's not because you lack ability, or because the Chairman will side with them, but because, for all their faults, they serve an important purpose."

Seeing that Naruto wasn't arguing yet, she continued.

"I wouldn't say any of thus if I didn't think it was important, but you need to understand, you weren't here before the Commission was formed. You don't know what it would be like without them."

Naruto could tell that some information was being held from him, but instead of asking directly, he decided to phrase his inquiry in the form of a off-handed comment. "I still don't see why you insist on protecting them so much. Surely they can't be that important."

Suddenly, Shizuka just stopped walking without Naruto noticing, causing him to carry on a few steps before turning around to look back at his companion questioningly. "Naruto-chan, what I'm about to tell you may make everything I've said up until this point seem biased, but I just need you to listen to everything I have to say."

"What is it?"

"It may not come to a shock to you to learn that I was an alumni here. You see, the Student Safety Commission was established relatively recently, about halfway through my freshman year, in fact. The time before that was horrible, though. Some students just wouldn't show up to class one day, and then you'd find out they were killed, and no one knew who did it. Very rarely did anyone find out who had killed someone, and it was even rarer that action was taken. And the victims, more often than not, they were nice people, just trying to do their best, and sure, occasionally it was the troublemakers that turned up dead, but they still didn't really deserve it. Everyday you wondered who would disappear next, that maybe it would be you."

As she talked, Naruto couldn't help but notice that the tufts of hair on Shizuka's head continually dooped down as she recalled how hellish life seemed back when she was a student. Suddenly, they perked back up as she came to a better memory.

"I hated it, and I just so happened to find a charismatic second-year who happened to share my thoughts. But more than that, he had a plan to make things better. With his help, it wasn't hard to find people with similar thoughts."

Shizuka trailed off here, leaving Naruto to put together what he was saying. His mental process may have been slugish, but the blond was still able to connect the dots with relative ease. And the conclusion he came to shocked him.

"Wait, are you saying tha-...!"

"Yes, I was a founding member of the Student Safety Commission."

Shizuka's face was uncharacteristically serious, and Naruto could tell she wasn't lying. The information sent him reeling, but before he could push Shizuka for answers, she began talking of her own accord.

"You need to understand, the original Commission was different than the one that currently exists, but it was perhaps too lenient, and that lead to it being viewed by some as ineffective compared to what we could be. Still, the changes we made for the school were clear, and everyone was appreciative of it. Well, most people were, at least. Real changes started taking place my senior year, when I was meant to be made head of the Commission."

/Some Years Ago/

Back then, we were more of a club then a a group that was outside the direct control of the school. We still had to go to class, but some of us would get out of it where we could and keep an eye out for any trouble, knowing full well that if we got caught up in anything, it may very well end horribly for those involved. But that never really stopped us, because we knew we were doing good work protecting the student body.

Admittedly, we weren't so clean back then, either. As I said, we would sometimes skip class, and, if necessity dictated, we would drop our human forms to apprehend the more aggressive perpetrators. I recall getting hospitalized for injuries more than once. After we subdued them, we would bring them before the Chairman and he would dictate a punishment that he trusted us to oversee. Very rarely did he ever take matters into his own hands. I only remember him doing that twice.

That's besides the point, though. Anyway, I must have been the third week of the first term during my senior year. By then, the founder had graduated, but our group had grown, as had our reputation. It was almost as if we had our own little militia. But, lacking our leader, most of them members flocked behind me. By far I knew out old leader the best, and everyone trusted me and believed I would lead the group in the right direction.

Well, not everyone. The previous year, a promising freshman had joined, along with one of his friends. Regrettably, that friend was horribly maimed and left in front of our base the same year they joined. It was clearly a warning, the perpetrator knew that they were a member of a group, and wanted us to see what they would do if we came too close to them. If anything, it just caused us to dedicate ourselves more to our work, but we never did figure out who had attacked and disabled that member, and his friend wasn't the same after that.

Well, as I said, it was the third week of the year, and me and a few other members had returned to the club late that day. We were at the door, and we heard a commotion behind the door. We just assumed that some of the new members were annoyed by the work we did, but when we entered, we saw another senior tied to a chair, and that junior savagely beating him, with members old and new lining the edges of the room, watching with either complete apathy or some form of sick joy.

We were all horrified, and rushed into the room. I demanded to know what he was doing, and do you know what he said? "I'm handling a situation. This is the guy who mauled my friend last year. I figure I'm just getting some back pay after all this time on top of his punishment."

I could see that the person tied to the chair was broken, and with the dried blood on his clothes, and how deep the gashes in the junior's knuckles were, I could only imagine how long he had been allowed to go it. I responded by saying we didn't get to decide the rules, and that we could only do what the Chairman gave us permission to do. I asked him how he knew that this was the guy who had done it.

"How? He admitted to it when he jumped me and tried to do the same thing. He needs to be taught that we aren't to be messed with. We need to convey that we demand respect."

He punctuated this with another blow to the restrained students already mangled jaw. I stepped forward to try and stop him, but was held back by another member.

"And who are you to lecture me about rules? With how much you've relaxed the rules for us, they might as well not apply to us. I went to class for the first time yesterday. Nobody questioned it, because they knew I was part of this. We are far above the average student. We don't need to play by their rules."

I still tried to argue that we didn't get to decide that, and eventually managed to convince him to release the student. He was still restrained, and as he and a few other began dragging him out the door, I demanded to know where they were going.

"I talked it over with the Chairman. You know those old dungeons on campus? He gave us permission to use a few of them from now on. This piece of trash isn't going to see the sunlight for a long time."

I was shocked he had gotten the Chairman to agree to such a thing. More than that, I was angered he had gone behind my back like that. Before he left, he said one last thing to me.

"Time's are changing, Nekonome-senpai. We've built up a reputation, but people see us as more of a club than an organization that deserves to be feared. I've already talked it over with the Chairman and most of the members here, and we've come to a consensus; we need to change our image and our practices to better keep rouge elements in check, and all punishment options from now on have been deferred to us so we can better keep the peace. With that said, we feel that you are too soft, and are to be removed form active command at once. If you don't like it,you might as well just leave."

He left after that, and I was finally released, but I couldn't talk to the other members. They refused to defend me and the beliefs we had agreed on. They had abandoned me. So I went to talk with the Chairman, and found out that he agreed with everything that junior had said. I couldn't convince him to change his mind. Me and a few other members just left the group we had helped establish after that, and they just kept on rolling, establishing stricter requirements for membership, instituting harsher punishments, and becoming more of an urban legend whose existence started to be debated.

And as much as I hate to admit it, they were more effective after that then we ever were.

/

"So I hope now you can see why it wouldn't only be difficult to fight the Student Safety Commission, but also see that things may not turn out better. As much as I hate what they've become, I wonder that if they went back to how they used to be, would things get worse for the school?"

Naruto was silent as Shizuka spoke, and she assumed it was because he was pondering what she had said, that she had somehow gotten through to him. His words broke any illusions she had of that.

"Shizuka-chan, you put so much effort into creating that organization, only to have it stolen from you. I can only imagine what that must have been like for you, to feel abandoned like that. But as your friend, I can't help but think you just gave up after that."

The conviction that carried through his voice and the confidence that shone in his eyes sent a tingle through the woman's spine. She couldn't argue with him in her current state.

"I'm going to prove to you that we don't need the current Student Safety Commission, and that your way of running it was better. You can't convince me not to take action, but you have shown me that there may still be some good in them."

Shizuka didn't quite know how to reply to that. Had she given in too easily just because she felt betrayed? Could she have done more, especially now that she was a teacher? Naruto was actively working against the Student Safety Commission, so why hadn't she? Was she afraid? No, it wasn't fear, she realized, it was disgust. She couldn't stand to face what she had allowed _her_ organization to become. Instead, she chose to distance herself as much as possible from the group. Maybe if she had watched over the members better, she could have prevented this.

"Well, at least I could do that much," Shizuka said, putting on an appreciative smile. "And you know, maybe you're right. Maybe I just couldn't face them after that, and just told myself nothing could be done. I'm not going to try to convince you to stop anymore, because I know if someone can change the way things work around here, it's you."

And with that, Shizuka closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped the blond in her arms, conveying her appreciation for his words through her touch. For his part, Naruto reciprocated, though hesitantly. He didn't understand why everyone wanted to seemingly have the same conversation with him and it always ended in them hugging. Was this going to happen when Tsukune and the others visited? Or was it because Shizuka was like Mizore?

"You're a strong woman, Shizuka-chan," Naruto finally said, causing the woman's heart to race a bit. "But even the strongest of us go astray, and need to be steadied by someone who has our best interests in mind. You just can' forget who you are or what you believe in."

"Oh, Naru- tmphh!" Before Shizuka was able to get out what she wanted to say, she found her mouth covered with Naruto's much to her utter shock. Her ear tufts stood straight up, and her surprise was so great that her disguise dropped enough that her tail popper out and went as rigid as her spine.

As for Naruto, the thought process that lead him to do that looked a bit like this: Mizore liked him, and wasn't afraid to show her affection with physical contact. Shizuka also wasn't a stranger to physical contact with him, and they had a good relationship, so she liked him in the same way Mizore did, she just didn't act on it. However, whereas Naruto felt that he couldn't return Mizore's feelings both because she was his student and she would be heart-broken when he eventually left, he and Shizuka were colleagues, and she knew what she was getting into by starting a relationship with him, and was mature enough to handle his departure. Hell, she may even be able to go with him if she wanted.

Since she wasn't resisting, Naruto assumed that she was okay with it and that he was right. He soon broke off the kiss and stepped back, only to see Shizuka still frozen in place, her face so red that he was convinced that all her blood was currently circulating in that one area. The blond tilted hiss head in confusion, and Shizuka finally snapped out of it.

"Wh-wh-what was that, Naruto-chan?!" she asked, completely embarrassed.

"Did I do something wrong?" he countered, completely clueless, and making Shizuka feel as if she was being backed into a corner.

"N-no, that's not it, I was just surprised," was the answer she gave, averting her eyes. Frankly, she was feeling conflicted. She had found herself becoming more fond of her blond friend as of late, and the only reason she hadn't told him was because she thought it would be off-putting to him and would ruin what they had. She was ecstatic to find out he harbored some of the same feelings for her, but knew that however much they enjoyed this relationship, it wouldn't be able to last. Then again, wouldn't she rather regret doing something than regret not taking action, just like years before? "In fact, I'm really happy," she continued, the heat from her face fogging up her glasses a bit. "But let's keep this secret okay? I don't want my students finding out."

"No problem," was Naruto's cool reply, glad to see that he was right about everything.

"Anyway, if you ever need a hand with the Student Safety Commission, come find me. I think it's time they realize just how poor their methods are."

"No problem," the blond said, giving off a big smile. They stood their with an awkward silence between them before Shizuka said her parting words.

"Well, I guess I should go back to class now. I can probably make it before the last class leaves. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya," Naruto said as she walked away. His office was in the other direction, so he guessed he should go tidy up a bit and clear the Student Safety Commission from his doorstep before his students visited.

/

When Naruto got there, he was surprised to see only one lackey form the Student Safety Commission standing around outside. Even more surprising, it was one he recognized; it was one of the guards he saw stationed outside the Commission's base.

Even though he wasn't trying to be particularly sneaky, Naruto still deviated from the path and went up the side, approaching the kid from the right and still managing to get within five feet of him without him noticing. Unable to help himself, the blond blew right into the kid's ear, causing him to yelp and jump in shock before turning to face him.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, causing Naruto to suppress a chuckle, though his grin showed clearly on his face. It was then that the boy seemed to recognize him, and then confusedly looked at the building right next to him. "How did you...?" he trailed off, before opening the door. At that moment, Naruto dispelled the clone he had watching the students he had detained. When the boy peeked into the office, he only saw the surprised faces of several students looking to the front of the room, when the blond would normally be seated.

"I snuck out the window," Naruto said off-offhandedly, drawing the boy's attention back to him. His wide and slightly frightened green eyes made the blond's smile grew a bit bigger. "So, what happened to the hoards of you that are usually out here? They decide to take a break?"

"What are you talking about?" the boy asked, now more confused than anything. "I've been the only one out here all day. You came out before to tell me to stop leaning on the door."

"So I did," Naruto replied, finding that this kid was a bit different than he thought he was. "Say you're name was Rook, wasn't it?"

"Wh-what?" 'Rook' said, even more surprised than he was. The shock quickly turned to joy. "You actually remembered? That's great, eh, I mean, no, that's just what Naoki-senpai calls me. He's a bit dyslexic. My actual name is Koizumi Ryou (1). Oh, but, that's not important. I, uh, shouldn't be talking to you."

"It's fine, isn't it?" Naruto tried to argue, actually starting to like this Ryou person. In truth, he reminded the blond a bit of his younger self, loving any sort of recognition he got. If he had to guess, that may have been the reason Ryou joined the Student Safety Commission in the first place. He decided to ask. "So, Koizumi-san, why join an organization like the Student Safety Commission?"

"Just calling me Ryou is fine."

"Okay, Ryou-chan," Naruto replied, causing the boy to give him a funny look, most likely not sure how to deal with the teacher's eccentricity.

"Yeah, well then, I guess I joined so that I could work my way up to the top of the organization. You see, before Kuyou-senpai, my older brother was the head of the organization, so I'm trying to follow in his footsteps. Of course, they don't really care about lineage or anything like that, which I like, it means I have to work for the position, but they have me on constant guard duty to prove myself. It's a real pain."

"Yeah, you're not that good at it," Naruto said, causing Ryou to sigh in agreement. Almost as an afterthought, Naruto added, "No offense."

"Don't worry about it."

"Then what about your friend, Naoki-san, was it? Why is he your retainer or mentor or whatever you call it. I mean, he doesn't seem to enjoy it. And where is he?"

"Naoki-senpai? Apparently he's on probation, and training me is his punishment. I don't know why, because no one seems to talk about it, but he used to be a really high ranking member. You know that scar on the side of his face? I think that had something to do with it. He always touches it whenever I ask him about the incident. As for where he is..."

"He's right here," said a voice, seemingly out of nowhere, causing both Naruto and Ryou to jump a bit. Turning they found Naoki standing right next to them. Naruto noticed a contingent of other members from the Student Safety Commission standing a bit further off down the path. "Rook, what have I told you about being alert at all times?"

"S-sorry, Senpai," Ryou responded, bowing a bit.

"That would be my fault," Naruto said, trying to draw Naoki's attention off of Ryou and onto himself. Truthfully, he didn't like this guy. He had managed to walk up on them without him noticing, which was never a good sign, especially after he had been so paranoid earlier.

Steel grey met frigid blue as Naoki turned to Naruto. "Be that as it may, Sensei, Rook needs to take responsibility for his mistakes, especially if he hopes to make it anywhere in the Commission. Though, in a way, I appreciate your concern for my charge."

Something about Naoki rubbed Naruto the wrong way. Maybe it was his overly respectful manner of speaking, almost as if it were mocking him, or maybe it was the way he held himself, with his katana strapped tightly to his side. Either way, it made the blond wary. "Whatever, why are you all here?"

"Um, Naruto-sensei, what's going on?" at that moment, Mizore and the others walked up, all with concern showing on their faces, glancing at the group of Commission members still stationed farther down the path. Naoki paid them no heed.

Instead, the boy reached into his coat and produced a neatly folded piece of paper. "It has come to both our and the Chairman's conclusion that you are not fit to detain students here any longer, on the grounds that it is affecting your professional performance. As such, we are here to relieve the students from your supervison." With that, Naoki gave a sign to the other members, prompting them to approach.

"No, wait," Naruto tried to argue as they moved passed him and into the office, prompting shouts of surprise and protest from the students in there as they began leading them out. He quickly scanned the letter, Tsukune and the others rushing up to him as this was happening, and saw that it did accuse him of failing to show up to his classes, and was signed by the Chairman, with his little seal at the bottom.

This just confused Naruto even more, as he had used his clones to keep everything in check. Was this a trick by Kuyou? It was then that he came to the realization that he had never replaced the clone he had teaching his class after the lunch break, leaving the last two periods without a teacher.

"Is everything alright, Sensei? What's going on?"

as the last of the students were carried away, Naoki turned to Naruto and bowed. "We'll be taking our leave now. Come on, Rook."

"Y-yeah. Um, see ya." Ryou's good-bye was much more awkward, and clearly he didn't understand what was going on as he followed Naoki, leaving just Naruto with Mizore, Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari all looking around worriedly and trying to get an answer as to what was happening.

As he watched the Student Safety Commission walk away, he crumpled the note in his hand and turned to punch the wall, yelling, "Damnit!" as he did so, punctuating his shout with a loud bang. He couldn't believe it. All that for nothing. How could he have slipped up so easily? How had he failed?

/

Hey, there you go. Join me in 2014 for the next update. In all seriousness, though, I'll try to update more from now on. Not next week, though, because I'm going on vacation. Sorry. But with essays and work, I'll aim for typing 1000 words a day. That seems good to me. Anyway, I have some reservations about this chapter, for instance, how I wrote Naruto's character. Sure, I can try to write it off as sleep deprivation, but I still don't like it, it bounces around too much, it seem. But cut me a little slack, I haven't done this for eight months, and if I try to fix it now, I doubt I'll ever update.

So, as for that annotation, Ryou mentions that Naoki is dyslexic and calls him Rook, which was supposedly because he was a rookie. However, in shogi, a promoted rook piece is called a ryuo, hence another reason for the nickname. Sure, dyslexia doesn't make much sense when you think about it, but just go with it, will ya?

As a side note, I completely forgot where I was going with this arc and thought up a new direction that may or may not be the one I originally had. So there's that. What I'm saying is, there may be some inconsitancies, but I'll try to make it fit the best I can. Or retcon it. Anyway, let's look at some reviews.

Dezzal says: I just couldnt keep reading the chapter, naruto is a jonin, in what part of that has a jonin ever been so outclassed as to be beaten and stomped on repeatedly and not be able to defend himself, and then on top of that to just get up and not do anything about it, then to say he wouldnt because he is afraid mizore might get hurt when for one he never cared before about that sort of thing in any of the otjer fights and two he is a jonin he makes a living fighting while protecting clients it was just so frustrating to read that I had to stop.

My response: Eh, reasons. I don't actually have a good response to this, I just see it differently. They're all monsters, he doesn't know what they can do, so he's just being cautious. If you don't like it, that's your problem, and you're probably not reading this for one reason or another.

Junky asks: So Naruto has lost most, if not all, the power of the Kyūbi?

My answer: Yes...

Drake the Gunner says: Great story and all, but im surprised you haven't presented Inner Moka, especially since shes on Naruto's harem, care to explain? But great story loved the 4th chapter.

My response: Yeah, I'm saving Inner Moka for a special occasion, much like a fine wine. Besides. I need to establish a relationship between Shizuka and Mizore before a new challenger appears. But it should be only a few more chapters, so, say five years.

Then a bunch of praise for the pairing and current arc, two things I'm sure are going to get a lot of attention in the reviews after this chapter. And, of course, some good omake idea. Unfortunately, there will be no omake this chapter, as it is currently 21:30 and I'm leaving for Virginia at 05:00 tomorrow, so there is really no time. As compensation, I'll do the three I like best next chapter, including ones previously sent to me and ones sent as of this chapter, so everyone gets a fair shake, yeah?

But before I go, I want to share a very special review I got, which was what actually prompted me to write this chapter. This is from Have a Little Feith:

Has it already been a year since this was updated? Damn. Hope it gets updated soon, or else you're gonna drop in reviews.

Do you know of any good Naruto x Nekonome fics? ones with chapters at least 1k words in length? 500 word chapters go by too quickly for me. I'm practically a speed reader.

Fair warning, I may be putting this on my updates list, but if it doesn't get updated within 6 months, it will be taken off my updates list, and you will lose someone who will review every chapter afterwards.

Sure, it may sound a little pretentious, but I like it, and you all have this person to thank I updated at all, so that's about it. Also, no to your question.

Before I forget, there's a new poll up asking which of my stories you want to see priority on. The reason this isn't on it is because it's the only one I feel comfortable writing, so I'll continue regardless. This will be updated exclusively for the next two chapters. Also, you would all just vote for this anyway. Mistakes in Blood isn't up, either, because that'll get done when it get's done, and I'm not in a position to rush it, especially since it seems it'll be the longest thing I've ever written. Also, I may start a new project, because I don't know when to stop. You'll understand if it ever sees the light of day, though. This chapter was 11491 words.


	11. Resolve

So, it's been a while. About four months. So I didn't exactly keep my quota. My bad. In my defense, I've been tweaking Mistakes in Blood, but that's nowhere near done, making sure I pass high school, but I skated by on some D's alongside the A's, and filling out college forms. In all honesty, this was about halfway done and sitting on my computer back in April, but I reached a point that I just couldn't make work. I was stuck on that for a while, as it is a pivotal part of the chapter, and even now I can still see it's the weak point, and though I know it's no excuse keep in mind it was originally much worse. You'll know what part I mean when you get to it. Point is, I finally made it work well enough and this chapter is now out, by far the longest in this story and close to the longest I've written, so might as well let you start.

/

Chapter 11: Resolve

Kurumu stood back and watched the blond as he leaned into the wall, clearly frustrated over the events that had just transpired. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the last of the Student Safety Commission vanish down the path, their new prisoners in tow. The blue-haired girl couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for them, but also knew that it was their own fault for acting out in the first place. Then again, she had been in a similar situation not too long ago, before she had made peace with Moka and Tsukune, and knew had she not been caught by Naruto, she may not be as content as she was at the moment, either because she wouldn't have found her friends, or because her punishment could have been much more severe, a la the aforementioned Commission.

Turning her attention back to the blond, she heard him utter to himself again, a soft, "Damnit," making her pity him a bit more. Looking back to her friends, she saw that their worry was painted much more clearly on their faces. Of course, that made sense to her; Naruto had benefited everyone else much more directly. Moka had told her of the incident from the first day of school, and she could remember that the blond's intervention was the reason they had met Yukari or Mizore, having turned the two lonely girls directly to them. She wouldn't deny that he played a part in her change of heart, but it was ultimately Tsukune that intrigued her enough that she wanted to get closer to him and, by default, Moka. More than that, she was the aggressor in that encounter.

It came down to the fact that Naruto had made a much better impression on the others. It was only natural that they would feel more empathy toward their common link. That was the reason she felt obligated to help the blond, not because she owed him a small debt, or because she was sorry for him (it wasn't as if Kurumu lacked compassion, she did feel a bit sorry for him), but because she wanted to help her friends by helping him. She smiled slightly to herself at the thought of that. She never would have imagined herself to be the most pragmatic in this sort of situation. In the end, she cared more for her friends then the person they cared about and she didn't fully trust. He was too dangerous, and an apparent magnet for trouble, and she didn't want to get too involved, but her desire to placate her friends overrode that sentiment. She found it ironic and amusing.

She took a step forward, prepared to bring the blond back to reality and remind him of their presence, but was halted as she saw Mizore stride to the blond and place a hand on his shoulder, jolting him back to attention. The action shocked her, coming from the normally meek girl, but that shock was quickly replaced by something else as she figured out what was going on, causing her to smile to herself once again. Looks like she'd never be able to completely distance everyone from the blond. Sure, she thought with Mizore's cute looks and personality, she could do better, but it was clear she liked Naruto, and as her friend, trusted her judgment. That didn't mean she wouldn't voice her concerns about him if she had to or trust him completely, and she would still attempt to kick his ass if he did anything to hurt her friend, but she would try to be a bit more familiar with him. Besides, now she could tease Mizore with this.

Meanwhile, Naruto felt the hand on his shoulder and broke out of his self-pitying state of mind, turning to find Mizore's concerned eyes staring him down. Looking around, he saw the others were also concerned, and knew it was because of him. He just had to accept the fact that he had made a mistake and couldn't do anything about it. At least, momentarily. Taking a deep breath the calm his nerves, Naruto pushed himself off the wall and turned to his students, putting a false smile on his face to put them at ease.

"Sorry about that," he said, trying to act natural, "but I wasn't expecting any more company."

He then turned to his office and continued.

"Well, maybe it's a good thing those students got picked up. Now there's enough room to go in. Come on, it's getting chilly."

With that, Naruto opened the door and looked at the others expectantly. He met Mizore's eyes again, and could see she knew better than to believe everything was all right. However, she accepted his invitation and made her way into the office, followed closely by Kurumu. Yukari was next, and then Moka, both casting him glances that he chose to ignore. When Tsukune came up, he stopped and asked, "Are you sure everything is okay, Naruto-sensei?"

"Sure, I'm great. Now get inside."

"But those guys..." Tsukune tried to protest, but he was cut off by Naruto, smile still on his face, bust voice dangerously low.

"Get inside, Aono-kun. It's getting cold." The blond was getting irritated, and while he knew that he would have to explain himself, he didn't want to do so more than once. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to be questioned about his mood.

Intimidated by the change of tone, Tsukune made his way inside and was followed by Naruto, who closed the door behind him. Of course, with the broken window, it didn't make much difference. He really should put something over that until it got fixed, he thought to himself as he made his way to his desk and regarded his students and friends.

"So," the blond began, trying to remove the suffocating tension that enveloped the room. It was clear that his fake smile did little to put the others' minds at ease, in fact if anything it probably made it worse, but he'd be damned if he let them know just how troubled he was by recent events. After all, a teacher was supposed to be someone their students could depend on. If he showed weakness, how would they be able to come to him and expect him to set all their problems straight? At least, that was the logic his pride would allow him. So he was determined to not show weakness, to try to cheer his students up with his own smile, and ask the question he already knew the answer to. "What brings you guys all the way out here?"

From their seats, the five shared a look with one another, communicating that they all knew something was wrong, but at the moment it was best not to argue with Naruto directly. Instead, they would just ask what was planned and not about what they just witnessed. Then, all eyes landed on Yukari, designating her as the speaker. The young witch looked desperately at her friends, almost feeling as if she were being thrown to the wolves for being chosen to deal with Naruto in his foul mood, but supposed it was only fair since this was her idea. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the teacher, knowing that he wasn't likely to take his aggression out on her in any event.

"To put it simply, we've heard rumors that you've gotten involved with the Student Safety Commission, having a war with them behind the scenes. Originally, our presence was three-fold: to find if there was any validity to these rumors, and, granting the first one, what they did to cross you, and if there was any way we could help you. Judging from what we've witnessed, however, that just leaves points two and three."

Yukari spoke diplomatically, keeping her voice calm and level as she broke down their reason for being there, and thought she had done a pretty good job, but feeling everyone's eyes turn on her as she finished, she was confused, as it was almost like they thought she did something wrong. She then noticed Naruto's stoney, unsmiling visage as he sat on his desk, and played back what she had said in her head. She then turned and looked at her friends once she figured it out, eyes wide, conveying that she didn't realize that she wasn't supposed to allude to the event whatsoever, only that she wasn't supposed mention specifics.

The girls turned around slowly, but before she could attempt to clumsily backtrack, she was cut off by laughter. It was clearly fake, but it put her and the others at ease nonetheless. "Now doesn't that seem a little backwards? Teachers are supposed to worry about their students, not the other way around. But since you came all the way out here to check up on me, I suppose I can't fault you for it. Yeah, I'm having a little dispute with the Student Safety Commission right now, but it's nothing you need to worry about. I just need to have a little meeting with the Chairman a little later."

Naruto trailed off here, making it clear he wasn't prepared to go further into detail. Mizore cast a glance at her friends, seeing them dejected at the blond's dismissive attitude. Turning back to him she tried to object, managing to get out a, "But what abou-..." before getting cut off.

"Now it's getting late, and you guys have classes tomorrow morning. You best be getting back to your dorms and rest up. You must be tired from all your worrying. Besides, if it gets much colder, you might get sick from the trip back. Now off you go." And with a wave of his hand, Naruto dismissed his students. Sure, he could see that this was far from the best way to deal with the matter, but at the same time, he really wasn't in the mood for this. And from what he saw with Yukari pussyfooting around the issue, he knew he could get away with this. He would feel like an asshole in the morning, but that was a problem for Future-Naruto.

The others were surprised by this behavior, but as per the blond's prediction, they weren't ready to challenge him on the matter. So, feeling rather put-off, everyone started getting up, with Mizore casting a dejected glance back towards the blond, which had even Present-Naruto feel like an asshole in his current state, though he didn't show he felt that way. Well, one person wasn't having it.

Slamming her hand down on her desk, Kurumu brought everyone's attention unto herself as she remained seated, staring Naruto down. "Stop acting so self-righteous! You didn't answer our questions. You can act like you did, and that you're being responsible, but you know that's bullshit! You're just taking advantage of everyone's, knowing they're not going to fight back, all because they feel some sort of debt to you. But you know that if you really cared for your students, you would address their worries directly and not just write them off. Now we're not going anywhere until you pull your head out of your ass and tell us what we want to know."

As the girl delivered her ultimatum, everyone regarded her in shock. Initially, Naruto wanted to be mad at the girl, but quickly realized that she was right before he did anything more he would regret. Instead, he felt a sense of gratitude towards her for forcing him to come clean. As everyone turned back to the blond, he nodded, signaling everyone to take their seats again. Sighing, he let the smile slip completely and allowed his fatigue to show clearly on his face.

"You'll have to forgive me for that," he stated, looking up at the ceiling as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I haven't gotten much sleep in the last few days, and I'm pretty burnt out, especially after what just happened."

There was a small silence as the blond sorted out his thoughts and settled his gaze back on the people in front of him, Kurumu in particular. She met him head-on, refusing to turn away. She was the one who asked for this, after all, and her conviction was too strong to let her be intimidated by the blond. Even if he wasn't actively trying to be intimidating, she saw his focus on her as a challenge.

"So you want to know how this happened, huh? Well, it's not a great story. I heard about the Student Safety Commission, thought it was interesting, and went to check it out. I thought they were just in charge of keeping the peace here, but I didn't know their methods. Turns out they run on a policy of fear and work from the background, holding students who break the rules in dark cells where they're starved and beaten. Of course, this is all dine with the Chairman's approval, existing as an apparently necessary evil since the school doesn't have the resources to properly oversee its populace. I took issue with all of this directly to the head of the Student Safety Commission and the Chairman, and was told if I wanted to try and change things, I was gladly allowed to try and rehabilitate the troublemakers I could catch, but as you can see that plan failed miserably. So, could I use help? Yes, any ideas you may have to mend the current situation would be more than enough. I can't expect you to get actively involved, after all. In fact, no, as your teacher, I'm ordering you to keep as much distance between yourselves and the Student Safety Commission as possible. I can only imagine what they would be able to do if a student tried to interfere."

The group quickly digested the information given to them, and everyone was glad that, in the end, Naruto did decide to open up to them, even telling them how they could be of help. Of course, they were a little uneasy at hearing the last little statement, so to lighten the mood, Tsukune decided to speak up. "I wouldn't worry about that too much, Sensei. The last thing any of us want is to cause trouble for you."

"That hasn't stopped you before," Naruto replied bluntly, making the atmosphere more awkward. Tsukune continued on with his thought, though.

"In any event, even if we do get involved, I'm sure you'll be able to help us out. You're amazing, after all."

Although it was clear that the boy was joking and just trying to pay the blond a compliment, it still caused Naruto to become gravely serious, something that leaked into his voice and caused most of the group to become even more uncomfortable. "I'm serious, stay away from them. My power is limited when it comes to dealing with them, and even if I do manage to protect you from them, I'll make sure you're punishment is enough to make it so you never think of crossing paths with them again. Am I clear?"

All Tsukune could do was nod.

"Good. Now it really is getting late, and I want to go to bed, so come on, I'll walk you back to your dorms. You can visit again tomorrow if you think of any ways to help. I'll even tell you what happens with the Chairman."

With that, Naruto got everyone up and pretty much pushed them out the door, flicking the light off and locking up as he exited. The group of six then walked down the path towards where the student and faculty dorms were located. The trip was quick and silent, as the others either had nothing to say or were still too intimidated by the warning to say anything.

When they made it to their destination, they dropped Tsukune off first and then Naruto escorted the girls the their building, leaving them as soon as they got inside. The four girls began to walk up the steps of the large building, with Yukari stopping at the second floor and leaving with a, "Good night."

The three girls then went up one more flight of stairs, where Kurumu and Mizore stopped as Moka bowed politely to them, telling them to, "Sleep well," before she continued up another flight by herself. The remaining two girls then walked down the hall towards their own rooms.

Kurumu's door came up first, and as she reached it she simply waved to Mizore and said, "'Night," before taking out her key and unlocking her door. She stopped, however, as she noticed Mizore simply standing in front of her own door. Casting her friend a curious glance, door ajar, she was about to call out to her when Mizore suddenly looked up and began walking back in her direction.

"I'm going to take a little walk."

"Are you sure?" Kurumu asked, confused by her friend's behavior. "It's pretty late out."

Mizore just nodded, leaving the blue-haired girl to process this for a moment before grinning in realization.

"Ah, I see. Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, huh?" Kurumu giggled to herself, thinking she knew what was going on in the reclusive girl's mind. If it were anyone else, she would be worried, but Mizore appeared a bit more practical than her other friends, and she gave Kurumu the impression that she could handle herself. Besides, it gave her more to tease the girl about in the morning.

Mizore, on the other hand, didn't catch what Kurumu was alluding to, exactly, but the implications caused her to blush, something she tried to hide. "I'm just going for a little walk. I want to tire myself out a bit more before bed."

"Whatever you say," Kurumu replied, still grinning. "Just take care not to be caught by Naruto-Sensei."

And with that, the blue-haired girl disappeared behind her door, allowing Mizore to make her way back to the stairs. As she did, she reached back into her pocket, retrieving a simple note on a scrap piece of paper.

_'Come meet me back outside.'_

It was straightforward, and the girl knew it could only be from one person. She didn't know when Naruto had managed to write the note, or even when he had managed to slip it into her pocket without her or anyone else noticing, but she could think about that later. She quickly descended to the ground floor and made her way through the doors, and sure enough, there was the familiar blond waiting for her, leaning against the building.

Hearing the front door open, Naruto looked up, and a tired smile graced his face as he saw Mizore. "Hey, Shirayuki-chan. I see you got my note."

The girl in question gave a quizzical look as she approached; the blond seemed to be acting strange. From what she had seen, he wasn't much for smalltalk, choosing to be straightforward instead, but it was almost as if he didn't know how to go about bringing up what he wanted to talk about. Instead of saying anything, however, she chose to attribute it to his fatigue, and voiced her concerns about that.

"I thought that you were going to bed? You've been up for who knows how long, no one can deny you could use a rest."

To this he just shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't want to sleep with a guilty conscience. I figure I can hod off a few minutes to set some things straight."

Mizore tilted her head at hearing this, confused as to what he was getting at. Seeing this, Naruto pushed himself off the wall and came closer to the girl before clarifying.

"What I'm saying is that I know I was acting like a jerk back there. Even though you went through the trouble of coming to find be beforehand to tell me you guys were going to be stopping by, I still wasn't forthcoming with any information. I let the moment get to me and didn't want to face you guys."

Naruto took a pause here to reorganize his thoughts. All the while, Mizore stood still, her face set in stone, refusing to show how she was feeling at the moment.

"I could see you were upset back there, and after all you've had too put up with, you don't deserve that, lest not from me. None of you do, because I see you as friends, and you do deserve to know all these things. I guess I just want to say I'm sorry."

Looking up, the blond saw that Mizore's face still lacked any expression, and was beginning to get worried. However, that was quickly put an end to as a small smile worked its way around the girl's lollipop.

"If that's all, you don't need to worry. I forgive you, and I was never mad at you to begin with. I never could be."

The context of the statement made the blond's heart flutter, but at the same time he felt even more guilty. It was clear what she meant, 'I can't get mad at you because I love you,' but why hadn't she said that? Was it because she knew he knew that, because she had told him that? But at the same time, the girl was rather blunt, much like himself, though she didn't talk as much.

Was it because of what had happened after she had told him that. She seemed pretty distraught. Maybe she didn't want to be crushed again by him, and thus was complying with what he had asked by not getting too close, which would explain her breaking away when he hugged her earlier, which made him feel terrible knowing he was the reason she had to deny what she wanted.

But then why had she put it that way when she knew he knew what she meant? At this point, Naruto was confusing himself, and shelved the thought just long enough for him to smile at her and ask, "Why, you barely know me?"

In response she shrugged and said, "I know enough to know how I feel about you."

"And how is that?" Naruto asked, not registering until the words had left his lips. He wanted to smack himself, seeing the girl's confused, almost hurt look, as if asking herself if she wanted to say. In the meantime, he thought more. Was it because of Shizuka? An image of the cat woman flashed through his mind, as did the memory of him kissing her. Looking at it now, he saw it unfair to Mizore, who had confessed her love to him. He could try to justify it in that Shizuka was more mature, that she knew what she was getting into, but who was to say Mizore wasn't just because she was younger? In fact, the unintended question could prove to be quite a fortuitous set up.

The purple-haired girl was again willing to attribute this to fatigue, but knew that that could only go so far. Was he testing her, like he did earlier? Was that even a test? He knew what she thought, so why ask again? However, she could think of no reason to lie, and even if there was, she didn't want to. Holding her head up high and meeting his eyes, Mizore spoke clearly and with conviction.

"I love you."

Silence settled down heavily on the two, but no matter what, the girl told herself that she wouldn't regret her decision. A sense of relieve overcame her as she saw a smile form on the blond's face.

"Why is that? Even knowing what you know, would you still want to have a relationship with me?"

Hearing the question, Mizore felt as if her heart had stopped. The blond took a step closer as she pondered the question, but the answer was obvious to her. Still, she had to be sure he was serious. Closing the remaining distance between them, Mizore stared up at him, and the blond could see tears forming at the edges of her eyes. The air was still, and the blond could swear he heard her racing in her chest.

"You know I love you, and I'll tell you that as many times you want to hear it. I can take care of myself. The one thing I ask is that you take this seriously, and don't toy with me."

The blond enveloped the girl in his arms and felt her go stiff. She seemed so fragile that the slightest bit of pressure could snap her in to, so he held her lightly as he spoke, "I am serious. I thought about it, and I wanted to give you the chance to decide, knowing I could leave at anytime, be it weeks or years. Maybe I could even come visit. Either way, from now on, I'll try to treat you how you deserve to be treated. So, what do you say?"

There was but a moment of stillness, before Mizore broke his embrace. Before the blond could even think that she was rejecting him, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his, which he quickly reciprocated. He felt a cool wetness on his cheek, and when they broke away, he noticed tears streaming down her face, but also her radiant smile. "Of course. Even if you go away, I'll graduate then I'll come find you."

Her smile was infectious, and Naruto soon found a smile on his own face. "You really are something special. I trust you'll use discretion?"

Mizore just nodded before giving Naruto one last kiss and breaking away. "Thank you," she said, gratitude clear for him giving her a chance. "Now I can ask, as your girlfriend and out of concern for your health, please get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

And without giving him a chance to reply, Mizore turned around and went back inside, leaving Naruto standing there feeling absolved of all guilt. More than that, he felt better than he had in days. He nearly skipped to his room, where he had a great night sleep.

/Next Morning/

Light was cast into the previously darkened room as the sun rose over the horizon and radiated in through the window. Gradually the rays crept along the floor until the covered the face of the sleeping blond.

Scowling in annoyance, Naruto turned over, grumbling to himself as he settled back into sleep. His futon was so warm and inviting, he was convinced he could stay there for days. That idea was mercilessly shattered by the shrill ringing of an alarm clock, causing the blond to rise with a start before glaring at the offending object through bleary eyes and slamming his hand down on it with more force than necessary.

With the sound gone, Naruto was tempted to go back to sleep, but he had set the alarm clock for a reason. He wanted to get up early so that he could meet with the chairman before classes started. Sure, he didn't have an appointment, but he wouldn't be surprised if he was actually being expected. Hell, he was probably expected yesterday.

Yesterday. As Naruto rose, he stopped, and memories came back to him. Having received a few hours of much needed sleep, the blond's higher reasoning capabilities were restored, and he now found himself breaking out into a cold sweat, as he just now realized that he had started a relationship, not just with a student, but with a college as well.

Deciding to lower himself slowly and gently, he cupped his face in his hands and tried to figure out how he could let this all happen. More pressing than that, however, was the issue of how he was going to deal with this and break the news to both Mizore and Shizuka. He knew there was no good way to go about it, and the fact that he had feelings for both didn't make it any easier, especially when he realized that feeling was love for both. Even if he wasn't thinking straight, he wouldn't have done something like that unless he was sure of how he felt. That love not only made him feel obligated to tell them, he knew that if it wasn't soon it would just make matters worse. That didn't mean it had to be right away, though. He needed to figure out just what to say, and he needed to find the right time.

Looking back at the clock, he realized this wasn't the time to be thinking about it. He had a meeting, and it was best to not let thoughts about the current situation affect him at the moment. After taking a quick shower to relieve a bit of stress and focus on the more manageable issue, the blond got dressed and left his room, headed for the Chairman's office.

/a few minutes later/

It wasn't long before Naruto stood outside the Chairman's office. Standing before the large wooden doors, his mind conjured up an image of the man in question sitting behind his desk, just waiting for the blond to start knocking just so that he could tell him to come in before he even touched the door. Then he would smile as the blond entered and wondered how he knew he was there.

Well, Naruto wasn't having any of that. Instead, he simply pushed the door open and walked in. Or, he would have, if there wasn't someone trying to come out of the office at the same time, thus blocking his progress.

Startled, the blond took a step back, only to realize that the person in front of him was possibly the last one he wanted to see. It was another blond, only he had straight, long hair, and wore a black uniform. It was of course Kuyou, who also appeared to be shocked at finding someone suddenly in front of him, though the only sign was slightly widened eyes.

Both men quickly regained composure and put on neutral masks, though their eyes showed how they truly felt about meeting person in front of them: contempt and and a perverse joy.

"My, what a coincidence," Kuyou said, his words dripping with venom, almost daring Naruto to make a move right there. Looking over his antithesis' shoulder momentarily, Naruto saw the Chairman, watching this scene play out with a bemused expression on his face.

"Not so much," was Naruto's reply, his eyes moving back to Kuyou. He saw the older's brow rise in question, and an amused smirk form on his face. "It's clear we're both here on similar business."

"Yes, that, would make sense," Kuyou said to himself. Then, as an after though, he added, "Oh, and don't worry, your prisoners arrived safely and are now in our care. Thanks again for rounding them up for us."

It was clear Kuyou was playing with him, but then again, that was to be expected. Of course, Naruto also wanted to get a few jabs in. "That's not much comfort. After all, your care seems to be little more than throwing students into a hole and watching them squirm. No offense, but you're a piss poor host."

To this, Kuyou shrugged. "Perhaps, but then again, you went out of your way to round these ones up. That proves their guilt, so those conditions are suitable for them. And here I was considering letting them out early."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this and quickly fired a comeback. "That kind of ambivalent attitude in a leader doesn't instill confidence in their troops. You should really watch that. You sure you know how to manage your power?"

It was Kuyou's turn to narrow his eyes. At hearing this, he began to walk forward and out of the doorway, opting to go around Naruto rather than pushing him out of the way, something which surprised the younger blond. "I do wait to see what you'll do next," he said as he walked away, though it was clear what he meant by that, 'I can't wait to crush your newest attempt to stop me.' as he was about to disappear from sight completely, he turned and said, "Oh, and try not to take too long. Don't want to miss your classes, do you?"

"Asshole," Naruto replied under his breath, scowling as he entered the office, letting the door swing shut behind him. As if seeing him for the first time, the Chairman's smile grew in delight.

"My, Naruto-san, what a surprise. I can only imagine what you're doing here."

"Really now?" was the blond's deadpan reply. A silence hung in the air, and it was clear that the continuation of the conversation hinged on Naruto. Sighing, he just came out with the question he wanted to know. "I don't suppose there's anyway that I can go about retrieving students again, huh?"

"Unfortunately, no," the Chairman replied, his smile becoming solemn. "Your mission description clearly states that you are here to teach a gym class. Anything else you wish to do while you're here is on your own time, and should not interfere with your primary directive. That being said, I'm going to ask that is what you focus on, and as such, I am temporarily removing any privileges you have regarding obstruction of the Student Safety Commission until a time I see fit where it won't mess with your other duties again.

Naruto sighed, having expected this. In truth, he wanted to be mad at the Chairman, but knew that it was his own fault for pushing himself too hard. He also didn't see much point in fighting this ruling. Maybe this was an opportunity he could use to better plan out his next step to catch the Student Safety Commission off guard. "I understand." In truth, he was glad he had gotten off this easily. What he had done was probably grounds for dismissal under normal circumstances, so as long as the chance for another shot at taking down the Commission existed, he would consider himself lucky.

"I'm glad. Now then, do you know what today is?" With that, the tone of the conversation changed, and Naruto met the Chairman with a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?"

This question was met with a chuckle. "I guess you didn't notice, but the upperclassmen have been busy. You see, in order to fit in better with human culture, it is compulsory that every student join a club to better facilitate social interaction between various groups. And today is the day that the freshmen decide which club they wish to join. As such, we have abbreviated lessons today, ending after the first session, after which there will be a large event, much like a exhibition, where students tour booths assembled by all the clubs.."

"Okay?" Naruto questioned, still not seeing where this was going. Sure, it was great for the students, but he didn't really see how he was involved. Cheer just seemed to emanate for the Chairman at seeing the blond's precious level of ignorance.

"What I'm trying to say is, instead of using your day off to go out and train, why don't you relax and tour the campus, see what your students have worked so hard on, maybe guide the underclassmen and ensure no one causes any trouble. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

The Chairman's smile grew a bit more sinister as he leaned forward, and Naruto's eyes widened a bit. He was a bit surprised to discover that the man knew about his training, but in hindsight that wasn't some great secret, as he hadn't tried to hide it. What was shocking was what was being suggested to him. Basically the Chairman's last few words had reduced the entire conversation into as follows, 'You can't advocate for prisoners already in custody or give them asylum from the Student Safety Commission, but prevent any trouble from happening is fine, just don't go overboard.'

As this information digested, Naruto offered a small grin that matched his superior's. "Yeah, I think I get you. I'm still kind of tired, so I could go for relaxation."

"Good. Now then, remember the event doesn't start until the end of first period, so find a way to occupy yourself until then."

"Of course," Naruto said, before turning and exiting the building. He was exited for this event; it sounded like a good way to take his mind off of all the stressful problems in his head, with the added bonus of being a chance to make sure kids stay out of trouble. He wasn't about to go all out, though. The Chairman had been right to say that he should take it easy. After all, he had seen what had happened when he pushed himself too far, and he didn't want to throw this chance away.

The blond stopped thinking about that as, while walking down the path, he recognized a familiar person. Sure, they were in the distance, and their back was turned to him, but that black uniform and red hair really stood out. On the one hand, Naruto really didn't want anything to do with the Student Safety Commission. On the other hand, Naruto didn't really associate Ryou with the group. Yesterday, the boy seemed sorry for him when Naoki and the others came around, even apologetic. In the blond's mind, there was some hope for the boy. Besides, teasing him was just too fun.

It was a cinch to sneak up behind the boy; he really was unaware of his surroundings and ill fitted for guard duty. Idly, Naruto thought he could help the boy improve his other skills and prove himself to the group, then he could have a man on the inside to help him reform the Student Safety Commission. It was definitely something he could look into later, but now wasn't the time, or rather, he first had to get on better terms with him.

Getting right up behind the boy, Naruto casually greeted him with a, "How's it going, Ryou-chan?", and watched as the boy jumped, high into the air with a yelp and spun around to face him, a frightened look on his face. The blond let out a chuckle.

"Wha- Uzumaki-sensei?! What are you doing here?! I, uh, I really shouldn't be talking to you, especially after, you know, yesterday. Oh, sorry, I probably shouldn't talk about that. I mean, unless you want to, but I don't know why that..."

Naruto cut the boy of with a loud laugh, amused by his behavior, and slapped him on the shoulder to calm him. He really was rather awkward with him, but other than that seemed really confident. That just added to the fun of messing with him.

"Don't worry about that," Naruto finally got out, "I'm not mad at you in particular. Besides, you're too fun to be around."

As he said this, Ryou did seem to calm sown, and let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, I thought you were going to be mad and beat me up." there was a pause here as the young Commission member realized what he said, then tried to desperately backtrack. "I mean, uh, you would try, but then I would have to you in for assaulting me, and that wouldn't end well for you, especially as things are."

"Right," Naruto said, deciding to play along. Ryou seemed relieved that his explanation worked. "So, you covering the club selection event today?"

"Oh, yeah!" the redhead replied, excited to be talking about his job. "I was just on my way to the main campus to make sure everyone is ready, then me and some other guys are going to walk around and make sure no trouble happens. It's kind of a menial job, so Naoki-senpai and most of the other members have the day off because Kuyou-senpai thinks your recent exploits will keep most people in line."

It was then that the boy remembered who he was talking to, and he once again became worried, but kept his voice authoritative.

"Oh, you're going to have to forget all that."

"Don't worry," the blond replied with a smile that information was actually pretty helpful. Maybe he wouldn't even have to help the boy get promoted. "I can't do anything even if I wanted to. After that little disaster yesterday, I've had a few privileges revoked for the time being, all of them pertaining to intervening with your methods. I'm pretty much useless."

"Oh, you don't say?" Ryou didn't like how happy Naruto seemed as he said that, and it had him questioning if something wasn't wrong, and that if the moment he turned his back, if the blond wouldn't just kill him in a psychotic fit. Just as he was about to try and weasel his way out of this conversation and walk very far away very fast, Naruto carried on.

"Yep. Well, it was fun talking with you. Maybe I'll see you around." And with a wave, Naruto walked off. Ryou just watched him go, Thinking he was a really strange guy, but not too bad. It was a shame he disagreed so much with the Commission.

At that point, a thought occurred to Ryou. What if he spied on Naruto? Sure, it was dangerous, but if he could eliminate him as a threat to the Commission by finding pertinent information, maybe he could rise in the ranks. Sure, he would feel a bit bad, but he would feel worse if something happened to such a nice guy. From what he had heard, Kuyou was a pretty ruthless guy. If he could mitigate the damages and remove the blond as a factor quickly, all the better right? So, with that in mind, Ryou began to tail the blond, keeping his distance as he went.

/Shizuka's class/

"-...And so please remember to find a club you really enjoy being in. oh, and if you can't do that, please remember the Newspaper Club id always looking for new members. That's all, so have fun out there." With that, Shizuka dismissed her class and watched as they all got up and left, chattering amongst themselves. She looked on with fondness, remembering days long gone. How good it was to be young.

She was broken from her thoughts as a voice called out to her.

"Hey, Sensei," said the voice, causing the teacher to turn. There was a boy, dressed in the school uniform. He was very hansom, with his black hair being held back with a red bandana. He also wore a strange pendent, and carried a large box full of newspapers. The teacher's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Oh, Ginei-kun!" she then noticed the box he was carrying and smiled even more. "Is that the stuff I asked for?"

The boy seemed a bit annoyed as he set the stuff down on a nearby desk and turned to Shizuka. "How many times do I gotta tell you to just call me Gin? And yeah, this here's all the papers we printed last year."

"There sure are a lot of them," the woman commented, to which the boy gave a somber reply.

"Yeah, well, this isn't even a full year's run, we just got a lot o' extras." the boy seemed to think back to something along with Shizuka before he seemingly returned to normal. "So you just want these out at the booth, yeah?"

"Yep, place them out nicely, then maybe see if you can point some students in that direction."

"Yeah, sure, and then I can go take some pictures, right?"

As the boy asked this, he produced a camera from his back pocket, causing the woman to frown a bit. "Tasteful ones, I assume?" she asked, to which the boy chuckled.

"You know me," he said, and unfortunately, she did know him, or rather what he was like. He wasn't necessarily a bad person, just a bit... overzealous in the pursuit of a poor hobby.

"At least try to find a story you can write with the new club members. And steer clear of any trouble."

"Of course," he replied, a brilliant smile on hid face. "After all, we don't want to give the Student Safety Commission any more reason to harass us.

At that moment, a person unfamiliar to the boy walked in, waving in greeting.

"Hey, Shizuka-chan, how's it..." the person stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Gin. "Oh, who's this?"

"I was about to ask the say thing," the boy replied, eying the person. He has young, with blond hair, blue eyes, and these strange marks on his face. He also wasn't wearing the school uniform for some reason.

"Oh, Ginei-kun, this is Uzumaki Naruto, and Naruto-chan, this is Morioka Ginei. He's the president of the Newspaper Club, which I'm the adviser for."

"Newspaper Club?" the blond asked, at which he took stock of the box of newspapers on a nearby desk and simply remarked, "Huh."

He then turned back to Gin and observed him. The boy didn't like the way he was being eyed by the blond, but he was done soon enough as he extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you," he said as Gin cautiously took his hand and shook, but otherwise smiled, this guy was a bit weird, but seemed friendly enough.

"Same here."

"Though it's strange," Naruto continued almost to himself, still shaking hands. "Considering I'm the academy's only gym teacher, I'd expect you to know me. And you yourself aren't that familiar."

"That is strange," Shizuka remarked, seeing the ponder the query set before them.

"Hey, you wouldn't be happening to skip class, would you?"

Gin had seen many strange thing in his relatively short life, and as such, while he found it strange that someone so young was a teacher, he didn't outright doubt it, especially since Shizuka didn't refute it. Even though they had stopped shaking hands, Naruto still grasped Gin's now limp appendage. Still smiling, now with a few beads of sweat running down his face, Gin slowly worked his hand free and tuned to the box of newspapers.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but I gotta go drop these papers off. Bye bye."

Completely ignoring the question, he picked up the box and calmly but swiftly walked out of the room. Naruto watched his retreat then turned back to Shizuka.

"What a weird kid. I'll have to find him again later."

"He's nice enough when you get to know him," Shizuka replied.

"So, the Newspaper Club?"

"Yep. Journalism has always been an interest of mine, so this was a perfect opportunity for me."

"And he's the president? Who else is in it?"

"It's just him now," the woman, said, much to Naruto's surprise, before she added, "There were more members last year, but many of them graduated and the others just didn't show up this year. One thing about Ginei-kun is that he's dedicated to whatever he puts his mind to, though."

"You don't say," the blond replied, noticing how Shizuka's smile shifted slightly as she spoke. Right away he could tell there was more to the story, but figured that if she had wanted to elaborate on it, she would have. Best to leave sleeping dogs lie for the time being. Besides, he wanted to see something. "Say, about yesterday," he started, testing the waters. He wanted to see how she felt about what had happened now that some time had passed, maybe apologize and say that he wasn't thinking straight and see where the conversation lead from there, but with how Shizuka was acting no different from before, it seemed she might not even remember, in which case it was best not to tip her off.

She suddenly spoke up, cutting the blond off. "Oh, right, yesterday! Do you remember when you mentioned a 'Shirayuki-chan'?"

Thinking back, Naruto did vaguely remember that, though everything that happened over the last few days was pretty hazy. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, the thing is," the woman started, averting her eyes from the boy and clearly having trouble finding a way to get her thoughts out in an appropriate manner, "how close would you say you are to Shirayuki-san, exactly?"

The moment the question was asked, Naruto went pale, and felt as if his heart had dropped all the way to his feet. Frantically, he thought what she could mean by that. Had she found out that he had made a mistake and was apparently seeing another woman along with her. No, she seemed to calm for that, but the thought still frightened him. He still hadn't found a way to break it to either of them, and was hoping he could keep his distance from both until he could get it across to them.

Seeing that she was still waiting for an answer, Naruto stammered out an average response. "Oh, well, you know, fairly close. We often talk, and she's helped me out with a few things before. Why?"

"How should I put this?" Shizuka questioned herself. Anxiously, she scratched her chin as she thought. "After you mentioned her, I thought the name sounded familiar, and went looking for information. It appears that she currently isn't assigned to any class."

"What does that mean?" the blond asked, looking at the woman as she struggled to explain everything.

"To put it simply, it seems as if she is not currently taking any classes."

"You mean like she's skipping?"

Naruto was shocked by all of this. He had always thought of Mizore as a rather bright girl and never would have imagined she would be the delinquent type. Then again, that would explain why she seemed so unfamiliar with everyone. He had no idea what to do.

"Not exactly," Shizuka replied, slightly assuaging the blond's worries. "While it's true she isn't attending any classes, except for gym, apparently, she isn't assigned to any class, which means, as far as her record goes, she hasn't technically cut any classes because they simply don't exist for her."

"How does something like this happen? I mean, how is someone left behind like that?"

"Apparently, Shirayuki-san was transferred from one class to another before the school year even started to even out the classes. However, the data was never properly filed, and she was lost in the transition. It's almost as if she's a ghost."

"So, where is she supposed to be?" the blond asked, hoping to set things straight. He could only imagine what Mizore did all day, let alone how she felt about it. Why didn't she go to anyone to try and fix it? Did she just not know where to start?

He noticed Shizuka let out a small, awkward laugh as she rubbed her neck. "Funny you should ask. As it turns out, I was supposed to be her assigned teacher, but the day her original teacher was meant to tell me was the day you arrived, and I was showing you around, so they couldn't find me. They left me a note and then forgot about the whole thing, and I was supposed to set things straight with the Chairman. Strange how things work out."

Naruto stared at the woman for a few seconds and then sighed. She could be so absent minded sometimes. "So how do we clear this up?"

"Luckily, that's the simple part. I can handle the paperwork, but the thing is convincing her to come to class. I really don't think it's appropriate for me, a total stranger, to break things to her, and I don't want to get the Chairman involved more than necessary, so I was hoping, since you have such a good relationship with her, could you do it?"

"Of course I will," the blond replied enthusiastically. In his mind, he was helping two friends, and righting a wrong he was indirectly responsible for, so it was only right he do this for Shizuka.

"Oh, thank you, Naruto-chan," Shizuka said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a small kiss. Naruto stiffened up, hesitantly brought his hand up to her shoulders, and slowly reciprocated, losing himself in the feeling of her lips, the scent of her hair. It really was going to be difficult explaining his real relationship with Mizore to her, and imagined that the other way around was going to be even harder.

/Earlier/

Ryou was careful in following the blond. That isn't to say he wasn't spotted at all; to anyone they passed, it was clear he was tailing Naruto, but what was important was that his mark didn't discover him, and he went to great lengths to make sure that didn't happen. While it was true that he wasn't that good in most things he did, that was because he didn't put his focus into most things. He couldn't care less about guard duty, hence he wasn't very perceptive and often was daydreaming when he was assigned such a boring task. This, however, was exciting, and required his utmost attention.

When he noticed the young teacher enter a classroom, the black-clothed redhead hid in a tiny alcove out in the hallway, still able to keep an eye on his mark and completely oblivious to the curious stares he was getting from others walking down the same hallway. The boy wasn't there long before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Nearly jumping from the shock, Ryou made sure not to make a sound so as to not alert his mark as he spun around to meet the person interrupting his spying session. He came round to find the bored expression of Mizore. Quickly, he pulled her into the alcove with him, thinking she would attract more attention if she stood out in the open like she was.

For her part, Mizore didn't really resist; despite his position, she really didn't see Ryou as a member of the Student Safety Commission. He didn't seem too intelligent, nor intimidating, nor influential. He was more of a nonentity than anything else. As such, he posed no threat to Naruto or anyone else, and thus, when she saw him blatantly spying on the blond, she was more curious than anything else. Even as he dragged her into his poor hiding spot, she found herself more bemused by his behavior and asked, "What are you doing?"

This was an example of how Ryou's focus on any one thing couldn't be split, as he casually answered, "Spying on Naruto-Sensei." Mizore just stared at the back of his head for a few seconds before Ryou glanced at her, turned back, waited a few seconds, looked at her again, and swore to himself upon realizing who she was. "You were the person who was with him that one time, weren't you?" he asked, sounding surprisingly cool. It must have been some internal programing telling him to maintain his composure so as not to alert Naruto inside the classroom.

"Yes," was Mizore's simple reply. In truth, she was also curious about Naruto, or rather, the person the blond was talking to. She had seen her around him a few times, and from what she had seen, they were good friends. But just how far did that friendship extend? Mizore was determined to find out, and this was a good chance to gather information, so rather then draw attention to Ryou and, by extension, herself, she chose to lie in wait with him. Besides, he wasn't a threat.

However, instead of leaving the conversation at that, Ryou's focus seemed to split, his interest in Mizore growing as he continued his observations. "So, why are you spying? Is it the woman?"

The girl was more than a bit surprised that he had managed to guess that, especially since the question seemed to come out of nowhere. Glancing back at the redhead, Mizore saw that he still wasn't looking at her, and thought that he asked the question absent-mindedly. Nonetheless, Mizore felt compelled to answer, feeling a small bond forming from participating in this little spying session with him. Still, maybe she could get a little information from him.

"You know her?" she asked in acknowledgment.

"Nekonome Shizuka. Alumni of Youkai Academy, she helped establish the Student Safety Commission. Currently twenty-six years of age, she started teaching here three years ago and is considered one of the more well-liked teachers. Supervisor of the School Newspaper, she and the club president, Morioka Ginei, are the only remaining affiliates of the club. She has an excessive love of fish and gets annoyed when people attempt to interrupt her class. She is currently single."

Ryou listed off random facts he knew about the teacher, remembering not to divulge her true form. He noticed Mizore's reactions as he spoke, making note of her surprise at learning Nekonome was one of the people responsible for the situation Naruto was currently in, and her anxiety when she found out the woman was single. Now why could that be?

"I see," Mizore responded, trying to sound detached. "Does Naruto-Sensei know any of this?"

At hearing that, Ryou's brain began working harder than it ever had before as he divided his attention to spying on the blond, talking to his new espionage buddy, and working out just why she cared. All the pieces seemed to come together for the latter when Mizore asked her question, as Ryou realized that this girl seemed to spend an unusual amount of time around the young teacher. Happy at being able to figure it out, the boy cracked a grin. "I would assume so. And I can see why you care; you like him, don't you?"

For the first time since discovering her, Ryou turned back to gauge the girl's reaction, now more interested in this than spying. Pink tinged Mizore's cheeks as she met Ryou's eyes, and she was forced to look away. Normally, she would be proud to say that she loved Naruto, but given their positions, the fact that Naruto reciprocated her feelings, and that it was a member of the Student Safety Commission (whom, while Mizore initially thought was useless, seemed more capable then she had given him credit for) who was asking, the girl thought better to remain silent. That was all he needed, though.

"I can't really blame you," he responded, going back to observing Naruto and surprising the girl. "I mean, he seems nice enough, and he's admittedly good looking, plus the more time you spend around someone is bound to increase your affinity to them. I feel bad for you, though. I mean, as is, it would be hard for him to have a relationship with you. But I guess you don't need me telling you this, huh?"

So it seemed Ryou didn't fully understand. That was good. Letting loose a small sigh, Mizore put on a fake sad smile so as to mask her true feelings as the redhead looked back to her and replied with a soft, "Yeah."

Feeling a bit bad at that, Ryou turned away and tried to backpedal. "Hey, sorry, it's not like I meant that it couldn't happen, just that you would both have to work very hard for it. I mean, I wish you luck, and hope something works out, and I wouldn't tell if I found out, even if it would help me, I mean, I can't just ruin someone's relationship like that, but..."

Ryou was cut off as Mizore shushed him and pointed out into the hall. Turning, he noticed a black-haired boy carrying a large box enter the classroom. Curious for more information, Mizore shook her new friend and asked, "Who's that?"

"Oh, Morioka Ginei, the president of the Newspaper Club. Looks like he's asking Nekonome-Sensei something about the their booth speaking of which," at this Ryou glanced back to Mizore, "why aren't you with your class?"

"Because I'm doing this," was the blunt answer. Mizore was glad Ryou was there to supply information, but wished he wouldn't talk so much unless she asked something; it made it hard to distinguish what exactly was being said inside the room.

"Yes, but you should be touring your options for clubs you can join. Why aren't you there with your friends?"

"Well, why are you spying? Going from guard duty to gathering intelligence isn't something that just happens, so this isn't official, and that tells me you have something else you should be doing."

"Yes, but this is more important."

"Exactly," Mizore countered, quieting down again as the president of the Newspaper Club exited the room and walked the other way down the hallway. Ryou just sighed at that.

"What I meant is that you seem to do this often. Do you even go to class?"

"No."

"Why are you telling me that?!" the boy asked, shocked but being sure to keep his voice down.

Mizore shrugged. "I can't get in trouble for it; I was never assigned to any class besides gym. As such, I've had a lot of free time to do what I want."

"And you've never been caught?" he asked, to which Mizore responded with a shake of the head, much to his amazement. That was some skill she had. Before he could reflect on it much longer, the girl pointed him back to the classroom.

"Hey, what's happening?"

Looking back, Ryou saw Nekonome approach Naruto and wrap her arms around him. From the angle they were at, it was hard to make out exactly what was happening, but it almost seemed as if they were... kissing? Well, that was a bit surprising, but there wasn't any rule he knew that prohibited workplace romances. Besides, as he had said, it wasn't his place to get in between a relationship.

As Ryou realized the reason he had initially said that, his eyes widened and he turned back to Mizore. The girl seemed stiff and paler than usual as she tightly gripped the edge of the wall they were hiding behind. Her face remained blank, but her could clearly see tears forming in her eyes. Before he knew it, they started running down her face, and he quickly tried to assuage her fears. "Hey, I'm sure it's not..." before he could finish, Mizore turned and ran down the hallway, away from the scene, away from him.

Turning back to look at two teachers, still in each others embrace, then to the retreating back of Mizore, Ryou easily saw that he wasn't going to get any information from spying on the blond and that his efforts would be put to better use in making sure that a distraught young girl didn't cause a ruckus. At least, that's what he told himself.

Without a second thought, Ryou ran after Mizore, determined to comfort the person he barley knew. Somehow.

/Later/

Kurumu was having a good time as she toured the club exhibits with her friends. Latching onto on of Tsukune's arms, ensuring that it was buried firmly between her breasts by how red the boy's face turned, and ignoring the protests of both Yukari and Moka, as well of the stares of the boys who were no doubt jealous of Tsukune, the blue-haired girl proceeded to drag him and, by proxy, the rest of the group in a random direction.

This had happened several times already, and Kurumu got a kick out of it every time due to how flustered everyone got. Then, once they reached their destination (as dictated by Tsukune breaking free and indicating to a random booth), she and the girls would playfully argue for a bit, then check out the booth Tsukune directed them to and several of the booths nearby. Honestly, it surprised Kurumu how many established clubs the academy had, but then again, considering the number of students and the fact that joining a club was mandatory, perhaps it shouldn't come as such a shock.

That being said, even though she and the others were having a good time, she hadn't found a club she was actually interested in joining. Of course, she was determined to join the same club Tsukune decided upon, and knew Moka and Yukari would do the same, and thus also tried convincing Tsukune to join a club he would enjoy and she had a semblance of interest in that the others may not, but had so far been unsuccessful. She also had a feeling that, in the end, Moka would ultimately dictate which club they joined, and that put a bit of a damper on her good mood.

Idly, Kurumu considered dragging Tsukune to the pool next to see about joining the swim club, but decided against it in the end. On the one hand, she would get seen by Tsukune in a swimsuit. On the other, she would be seen by a bunch of perverted boys in a swimsuit, Tsukune would see other girls including Moka and Yukari in swimsuits (though the latter wasn't really a big deal), and there was a bigger problem with Moka. Kurumu could see the rosary clear as day, and when she had first met Moka, it was one of the things that stood out to her. It was a strange accessory, and while it was possible the pink-haired girl could be a Japanese Christian, the design came across as too ornate to simply identify a faith. Instead, it seemed to be more of a suppressor, and only one monster she could think of needed such a thing. Of course, it could be a ruse; vampires were said to be insanely powerful, and Moka could be using that to intimidate others, but looking at the girl as a whole, intimidation didn't go far with her, and it was more likely the seal served an actual purpose. So, taking into account there was a strong possibility Moka was a vampire, Kurumu knew Moka probably couldn't swim, and that would raise suspicions enough that Tsukune probably wouldn't be paying attention to her. Plus she didn't like swimming that much herself.

She was also a bit concerned about the absence of Mizore. When they met that morning, the girl had agreed to meet them as they searched for a club to join before rushing off to do who knows what. As of that moment, the purple-haired girl was nowhere to be seen, and Kurumu really wanted to know what that behavior from the previous night was about. She had her suspicions, but that wasn't good enough in this situation. She needed something concrete to tease her friend with.

Thinking back to that also made her recall Naruto's situation. The blond had been unusually hostile, and while it perhaps wasn't rightfully so, she could at least see the reason for it. Truthfully she wanted to help, and thought talking it through a bit more could help find a solution. However, she had yet to see him, either, that day. He didn't have any classes and, as far as she knew, he didn't supervise any clubs, combined with that fact that he wasn't the type to sit around all day, logic dictated that he was also wandering through the throngs of people to see what the older students had in store, but there was no sign of the energetic blond. Surely he wasn't moping, right?

Suddenly, a scandalous thought crossed Kurumu's mind, causing her to blush. Mizore couldn't have possibly had a little rendezvous with a certain blond the previous night, right? Kurumu had been under the impression that the girl was just going out to carry out the blond's duty, maybe do something to impress him, but was it possibly that she had gone to comfort him, confess to him? Had that led to something? Was the reason she could find neither of them because the two of them were otherwise indisposed at the moment? No, neither of them were those kind of people. Right? Besides, she had said she would meet them later, she wouldn't lie. Still, that didn't mean the two of them weren't somehow involved.

Thinking that, Kurumu went to a darker place inside hr mind. If she had thought that about those two, why wouldn't the Student Safety Commission? Had they captured Mizore to get to Naruto? This time Kurumu forced herself to reject that idea; it was far too soon for them to be moving again, having halted the blond for the moment. Wasn't that good enough?

Before she could speculate on the situation further, Moka noticed her friend spacing out and decided to intervene. "Are you alright, Kurumu-chan? You're not unwell, are you?"

"What?" Tsukune asked at hearing this, turning to Kurumu. He placed a hand to her forehead, causing the girl to blush, embarrassed from being scrutinized over so much. Of course, this cause the boy to retract his hand with the comment, "Wow, you're warm. Do you need to lie down?"

Before Kurumu could cut in, Yukari decided it was her turn to speak up. "Colds aren't that uncommon this time of the year, so you shouldn't be embarrassed at telling us sooner. Besides, you should consider our feelings and make sure we take the proper precautions to not catch your illness. With how you've been hanging off Tsukune-kun all day, it's a wonder if you actually care about his health and weren't intentionally trying to get him sick so you could take care of him like a loving wife."

Kurumu had to admit, that wasn't a bad idea, but didn't want to be suspected of trying to pull a stunt like that in the future. Instead, she knelt down and pinched Yukari's cheeks in retribution for casting such doubts on her. "I'm not sick, you little brat! If anything, you're sick for even suggesting I would do something like that to Tsukune-kun. I'm just a little warm, alright? That's normal given the time of year, isn't it?"

Letting go of Yukari's cheeks, she let the girl talk, only to be proven wrong. "Normally, yes, but not here. There seems to be a barrier surrounding the academy that carefully regulates both the weather and temperature. The temperature has roughly been the same since school started."

The blue-haired girl huffed at being thwarted so easily, especially now that even more scrutiny was being put upon her. "Kurumu-chan, if there's anything we can do to help you, please let us know."

Turning to Moka, she sighed. "It's nothing, really, I'm just worried about where Mizore-chan is."

"I'm right here."

The cool voice caused several people to shout in surprise as they turned to the source. There, they saw the aforementioned purple-haired girl.

"How long have you been there?" Moka asked, trying to maintain her usual sweet tone but obviously shaken by the sudden appearance.

Mizore replied in her lax tone, but kept her distance, piquing Kurumu's interest. "I just found you and overheard your conversation. I couldn't resist surprising you."

Her face showed no emotion despite the amusement conveyed by the girl's words, but then again, Mizore was usually like that. At least, that's what the blue-haired girl told herself. However, upon closer analysis, Kurumu could clearly see redness on the outside of Mizore's eyes, as slight as it was. The sleeves of her sweatshirt also appeared to be damp. She couldn't have possibly been crying, right? Why?

None of the others seemed to notice Mizore's condition as they stood there casually conversing with her, nor did they realize Kurumu was lost in thought and not participating in the conversation. However, as the face of a certain blond flashed through Kurumu's mind, a small sound escaped her lips, prompting Yukari to glance in her direction, prepared to ask what was wrong, only to witness the unadulterated anger on her face.

The sight shocked the young girl into submission, causing her to stumble backwards. Yukari knew Kurumu could be temperamental and easily angered, but the pure rage she was currently displaying was something else entirely. She bumped into Tsukune, causing him to make a sound and alerting the others to Yukari's current state.

By this time, Kurumu realized she was getting carried away. She neither had proof that Naruto had caused this reaction in Mizore, nor did she want to frighten anyone. The only way to justify her anger was to ask Mizore directly, but not in front of everyone. She understood this could be very sensitive, and forced herself to calm down. However, she heard Tsukune make a sound and saw the fear on Yukari's face. Internally, Kurumu cursed herself out, hoping the others didn't catch on and Yukari didn't explicitly direct the attention to her. She wasn't in the mindset to make something up if the others inquired.

Fortunately, what Yukari saw was so shocking and occurred so quickly that by the time Tsukune was asking, "Hey, what's wrong, Yukari-chan?", the girl had replayed the scene in her mind enough times that the image became warped and she was no longer certain at what she saw, especially with the worried expression Kurumu was now toting.

Deep down, Yukari felt that her initial impression was true, but couldn't prove it to herself. It wouldn't do to bring it up in front of everyone, anyway. Instead, she quickly turned around and chuckled. "Heh, sorry, it must be the heat, I'm a bit dizzy."

Moka tilted her head at hearing this. "But didn't you say that the temperature here..."

She was cut off as Yukari pointed behind them, shouting in excitement, "Hey, look!"

The others turned to where Yukari indicated and saw none other than Naruto walking towards them. Curiously enough, he was drenched, and was leaving a trail of water behind him as he approached with a large smile on his face.

Seeing that he was noticed, he waved and shouted, "Hey, what's up?"

The others waved back, though it was clear they were unsure what to think about his appearance. Kurumu could feel her rage boiling over again at seeing him, but tried to keep calm. It was hard when she noticed Mizore refused to turn to face him, choosing instead to bow her head.

"Not much," replied Tsukune, elected ambassador for the group, "but why are you so wet?"

"Oh, right," Naruto said, looking down to inspect himself as if he didn't realize he was soaked. Pointing over his shoulder, he replied, "There was an incident with the swim club. I managed to intervene before the Student Safety Commission got involved, and convinced a friend to look after those involved. I wouldn't go over there for a while, though. Speaking of which," at this, he turned back to the students and grinned, "manage to find any worthwhile clubs?"

"Well, were still looking. We want to stay together, but haven't been able to agree on anything. Of course, we just ran into Mizore-chan, so we don't have her opinion on anything yet."

"I see," the blond replied, rubbing his chin. He noticed Mizore had yet to look at him, and was even more worried that he had made a mistake the previous day. That didn't really make his job to get her to start attending class any easier. He also couldn't help but notice Kurumu's hostile gaze, and was actually a bit put off, but couldn't help but chuckle as he continued. "Well, if you're having that much trouble, I have a suggestion."

"Really?" asked Tsukune, excitement showing through, but he quickly sobered up."Uh, but I don't think we want to join a sports club. Do we?"

Turning to the others, he saw Moka and Yukari shake their heads.

"What are you talking about?" the blond asked, thoroughly confused.

"Weren't you going to tell us to join the sports club you advise?"

"I advise a sports club?"

/Elsewhere/

"Where's that dumbass gym teacher?" asked a boy, leaning back in a foldable chair behind a booth. "Isn't he supposed to help out with this?"

"Probably doesn't even know he's in charge of the baseball club," replied his friend, twirling a bat in his hand. "Gives us more freedom in the long run."

"Yeah, but I care about now," the first one whined.

"Well, this would go a lot easier if you two would pull your weight!" said a new person, snapping the other two out of what they were doing. "Now take these boxes and set up properly before you really piss me off!"

/Back with Everyone/

"Well, I'm sure they would have told you if you were an adviser."

"Anyway," Naruto continued, shrugging off the whole misunderstanding, "Why not join the newspaper club your homeroom teacher advises?"

"Oh yeah, Nekonome-sensei did mention that, didn't she?" Kurumu noticed Mizore stiffen up at hearing that name. Just what was going on? "It's worth a shot. Thanks, Sensei."

"Heh, Naruto-sensei always comes through, doesn't he?" Yukari shouted, causing Naruto to chuckle in embarrassment. However, as they started walking away, he called back to them.

"Before you go to far, mind if I borrow Shirayuki-chan for a minute. I need to go over something with her quickly."

Kurumu noticed Mizore stiffen up again, this time looking up in shock. Her back was still to the blond, though, and Kurumu quickly thought up an excuse. "Well, can we check out the booth first? We haven't seen Mizore-chan all day, and we want to secure all our spots in the club if we like it."

"It'll only take a second," Mizore replied to Kurumu's surprise. "You can go on without me if you want."

As she turned around, she heard Kurumu say, "Don't be ridiculous, we'll wait right here for you."

This statement was met with agreement, and Naruto chuckled, saying,"It won't be long," as he led Mizore out of earshot of the group and any passerby that may just be walking along, but still felt Kurumu's eyes on him. He really didn't understand what went through that girl's head. Still, he ignored that and regarded the girl he had asked to follow him. Unsure of how to go about this, he asked, "I don't suppose you know what this could be about?"

Of course, Mizore had ideas, many of which she didn't want to face. She still couldn't bring herself to look up at Naruto's face, afraid of what she may see in his eyes, or rather, what they lacked. She didn't want to acknowledge that he didn't love her, that she was a fool, but after what she saw...

Mizore shook her head, both to answer the question and try to clear her thoughts.

Naruto sighed, and what he said next lifted such a great weight off of Mizore's shoulders that she swore she could have floated away. "I've come to understand that you've been skipping class, or, rather, haven't had any class assignments since the start of the year besides gym. I'm here to fix that."

"I see."

As the girl said that, she tried to keep her emotions in check. It would be too off-putting to seem excited at this news, wouldn't it. But still, she was glad this was what the conversation was all about, not that Naruto's actions were a mistake, not that he wanted to call things off. But as she thought more about it, the situation with Nekonome was still a lingering specter of worry for Mizore. Had she been mistaken? The embrace had definitely happened, and while that in itself was a bit too warm for Mizore's comfort, the kiss was questionable.

No, the girl knew what she had seen, but the explanations she came up with didn't put her at ease. Was Naruto deliberately two-timing? No, that wasn't in his character, he was too kind to risk hurting someone's feelings over something like cheating. There was also the fact that Mizore hadn't seen the situation play out; for all she knew, Naruto had pushed the woman away right after that, and Nekonome had made the mistake of thinking her feelings were reciprocated. It still made her a rival in love, someone who stood in Mizore's way. And, following her own logic, the girl deduced that Naruto may have been too nice to make things clear to the woman. That made her all the more threatening. Of course, the easiest thing to do would be to ask Naruto about it, but if she did, she would be revealing that she spied on him, and that wouldn't be good. She would just have to prove herself to be the better woman from then on out.

The whole situation was becoming much more stressful than it needed to be. Of course, thinking back, she was also forced to recall Ryou. He had gone through all the trouble of chasing her down, trying to get her to regain her composure, and even suggested such a stupid solution. She didn't have the resolve to go through with that, but the more she thought about it, the more appealing his idea was. She would really need to steel herself to do it, though.

Naruto's sigh brought Mizore out of her reverie, and looking up to him, she saw a slight frown on his face. "You know, I'm a bit disappointed in you," he said, much to her shock. "Of course, this whole situation is the school's fault, but you could have set things straight earlier. Doesn't it bother you that you've been intentionally missing classes? I can only imagine what you've been doing with your time."

The blond didn't notice that as he spoke, Mizore's head dipped lower and lower, her long hair cascading over the front of her shoulders and her bangs obscuring her eyes. He couldn't know how much his words hurt her, especially now in this fragile period. She could feel the tears welling up as he continued, pitying her own faults.

"But then again," he continued, catching Mizore's attention again, "I'm happy that you decided to continue coming to my class, and that you always put your all into my lessons, because I was able to get to know you, and find that you were a really good girl, and even though your actions were unbecoming of you, I don't doubt that your heart was in the right place, if that makes sense."

Mizore heard Naruto chuckle at the end of his statement. By this time, tears were streaming down her cheeks once again, but this time in joy. His words had warmed her, and despite the fact that he was the one who kept her on this emotional rollercoaster, she was still glad she knew him, that he returned her love.

As she looked up, Naruto saw the tears, and his smile immediately dropped. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, worried.

It was Mizore's turn to chuckle as she wiped away her tears. "Nothing, I'm just happy that you care enough for me to do this. I'm happy that you expect more from me. Most of all, I'm happy you chose to love me."

"Oh," the blond replied, feeling a mixture of his own happiness and unease at the girl's words. "That's a relief."

A small silence filled the air as Mizore composed herself, then asked, "So, who's class am I joining?"

Naruto's smile came back full force, expecting Mizore to enjoy this news. "That's the best part. You'll be joining Aono-kun and Akashiya-san in Nekonome-sensei's class. I'm sue you don't know her, but trust me, she's a good friend and knows what she's doing."

"I see."

Naruto had been expecting a bit more of an enthusiastic response. Looking to Mizore, he saw she was conflicted about something. Before he could question him, the girl blasted him with the last question he expected to hear.

"Naruto-kun, did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

The blond's mind went into overdrive at hearing that. What had brought this on? And right after mentioning Shizuka. Mizore didn't expect anything, did she? This was a chance to come clean, to admit he was unintentionally seeing someone else. That wasn't what she was asking, though, and while it made him feel dirty for hiding something like this, he could tell it was not the time to drop something like that on the girl. Waiting made it worse, yes, but he realized he didn't want to lose this relationship, he would make it work. Idly, he also wondered if this was the first time Mizore had used his name. It was definitely the first time she used it with the suffix, and he had to admit, he like the sound of her saying it. Maybe he should switch over?

No, this wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to look him directly in the eye, and answered with all his conviction, "If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it; of course I love you."

Hearing that made Mizore so happy that, before either of them knew what she was doing, she grabbed him and pulled his face to hers, locking them in a kiss. The combination of shock and the pleasurable feeling made Naruto forget where he was,but looking around, he saw the equally shocked faces of Tsukune, Moka, Yukari, and Kurumu, all of whom were blushing and doing their best to avert their eyes after seeing him look their way. Painfully conscious of there surroundings, Naruto broke the kiss, looking around to ensure no one else saw, and alerted Mizore to the fact that they were in public.

"H-hey," he said, flustered, "you said you'd use discretion! I think they know now!"

Looking over her shoulder, Mizore saw her friends, all of them refusing to meet her eye, then turned back and shrugged. "It's fine if it's them, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess," he answered, unsure of himself, "but you could have warned me."

A small smile worked it's way onto Mizore's face as she reached up one last time to place a kiss an Naruto's cheek. "I'll go explain thing to them and make sure they don't talk, so don't worry. And I'll start going to class, too. I love you."

And with that, Mizore left the blond standing there, unsure of what to do, and made her way back to her friends. Of course, Yukari was the first to make a comment. "Wow, that was amazing, Mizore-chan! I never imagined you to be so bold!"

"That was a bit unexpected," Tsukune admitted.

"Sensei is a good guy," Moka concluded, "but is it really okay to be doing... that with a teacher?"

Kurumu was the most concerned, however. Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, she looked into her eyes and questioned, "What caused this?" Of course, she had suspected, but didn't expect her to make more progress than she had with Tsukune. This seemed uncharacteristic of the girl, and in Kurumu's mind, there had to be a catalyst. In this situation, she really didn't mind asking, nor did she even think about it.

Mizore just smiled softly, and figured that this was the best opportunity she had to kill two birds with one stone. Besides, the truth would lead to more questions she didn't want to answer.

"Are you aware that Sensei is only a temporary replacement?"

There was a silence, then, "Wh-what?!"

The shocked response came from Kurumu, to which Mizore just nodded. "From what I understand, he could be dismissed at anytime, without warning, the moment the school finds a suitable replacement. If I didn't act, I may have just woken up one morning to find him gone and missed my chance. Now, while that still might happen, I won't have any regrets; he accepted me, and we have a reason to keep in touch."

"But, they can't just get rid of him!" Yukari protested. "He's done such a good job! Surely that's worth something!"

"I would like to think so, but considering that situation yesterday..." Moka railed off, contemplating the situation.

Seeing this was getting everyone down Kurumu sighed. "Well, that settles it. Before he leaves, we have to help him take down the Student Safety Commission. Then, with him heading disciplinary actions, he'll be too important to leave right away. But until then," as she said this, she turned and pointed, "we need to decide on a club to join. So, let's head to the Newspaper Club's booth!"

"She's right," Tsukune agreed. "Helping Sensei is important, and arguably the best way is to turn public opinion against the Student Safety Commission. For that, we can use the newspaper. Let's go."

The others cheered in agreement and followed Kurumu, despite the fact that none of them knew where the booth they were looking for was located. Mizore was grateful that they had believed her and didn't really ask any questions, even if she did feel a bit guilty. And Kurumu's words had made her realize that stopping the Commission was the best way to keep Naruto around longer. It would also show that she was the most worthy of his love. But she knew that something like a newspaper wasn't enough to help him. She would have to be more extreme in her methods to fully show her devotion, and this thought helped her mentally prepare herself.

/Later/

Long after the day had ended, Kuyou sat in his office, pondering the next move to make. He would be the first to admit, it was a stroke of luck that forced Naruto into his current situation; from their first meeting, he knew the blond was headstrong and would end up burning himself out, but not this fast, and not this badly. Naruto now had no recourse to stop his operations, and that was fine, but Kuyou knew the other blond would find a way to challenge him again, and this excited him. Sure, simply deterring someone from interfering was nice in itself, but he wanted to send a message to others with similar thoughts; you can disagree, but don't think you have any hope in changing the way things were. So how best could he make an example of the foolhardy blond?

Before he could go much further on that thought, he was interrupted by a knock, causing him to frown. "Come in," he called, hoping this was worth the time. The moment the familiar red-head appeared from behind the door, Kuyou's expectations immediately dropped, and while he entertained the idea of just turning the boy away, he instead decided to put a smirk on his face and see what he wanted. "Well, if it isn't my favorite patrolman. What do you need? Something to report from today?"

"No, well, yes, I mean, there is something from today I want to inform you of, but that isn't, sorry, can I come in?"

Kuyou chuckled to himself behind his steepled hands. He found it amusing that this boy could be related to a person who once headed the Student Safety Commission and no doubt had similar aspirations. "Of course, Koizumi-kun. Or do you prefer Rook? What do you need?"

"Whatever is fine," Ryou replied as he entered further into the office. As he did, Kuyou raised an eyebrow, as it was clear that someone was behind the boy, though he couldn't make out who. Looking back to the boy, it was clear he was as uneasy as ever about his actions. "Um, if it is fine by you, I have someone with me who wishes to join us."

with that, Ryou moved aside, revealing the person behind him. Kuyou stared for a moment, then broke out in laughter at seeing the familiar purple-haired girl. He never could have accounted for this, but it was fantastically interesting and gave rise to so many possibilities. While Ryou was taken aback, Mizore simply stood firm, resolved in her decision.

/

Damn, that was grueling. Yeah, I'm not entirely happy with it, so I don't expect you to be either, but this was tough for me. Before I forget, I know I said I would include three extra thingies, and while I could withhold posting this for a day, I really didn't find any of the submitted content fit for an omake, either because it could easily be its own one-shot with how comprehensive it is or I didn't enjoy the idea enough because I didn't see the vision. So, yeah, I'm a scumbag. Also, poll's still up. I haven't checked it yet, and don't plan to until next chapter, but hey, vote anyway. Also also, in more serious news, someone cared enough to adopt one of my stories. Freelance Monsters has been taken up by My-LookingGlass, and while it saddens me, it was for the best. I wasn't going to do anything with it, but back when I thought it would win that one poll, I had so many ideas with what to do with it. However, it didn't win, and I clearly never had enough time to even entertain the thought of continuing it, but honestly, because the basis of the plot was so straightforward, it was the easiest to give up, because I'm sure certain plot points will be replicated. Admittedly, I haven't read it yet, and it was adopted around two months ago, but after this I swear I'll go look at it with you guys. Anyway, I'd be more reluctant to give up any other stories, with Necessity being next on the chopping block, but even then what I wanted to do with that was so comprehensive I'd need to be persuaded more than simply asking me to give it up. Anyway, that's that, onto comments:

Kyo no Kitsune: After you finish this stiry you should do another crossover like with Fairy Tail or HOTD (Highschool of the Dead) or something.

Really, I'm in no position to think of starting anything else for a loooooooong ass time, so sorry about that. Also, I've never been a fan of those series, while I'm told that HOTD is pretty good, zombies are too cliché for me to enjoy, and I don't know why, but Fairy Tail just pisses me off anytime I try to get into it. So, yeah, not happening.

Taro (Guest): (I'll paraphrase because this is so long. Look up the actual review yourself if you want to read it as is. Basically I don't fully understand the mechanics of cloning, as Naruto can easily make thousands if them and the backlash isn't as bad as I made it out to be, and the clone is independent of his chakra, so it can be easily sustained. Also, stealth in Naruto's greatest skill, and he has sage-mode. Also, relationships are taking too long.)

I'll admit, I don't fully know how the cloning works, I know he can make a lot, but I've never seen them sustained days on end, so I'll disagree with you there for now. And honestly, the whole sage thing did slip my mind, and while it wasn't addressed in this chapter, I'll retcon it eventually as he was to tired to think of using it. On the relationships issue, I really don't enjoy rushing things like that, finally adding Mizore to the fold just because it gave rise to good possibilities. Even then, I think it was clumsily done. So please don't rush me on this kind of thing for Moka in the future. We'll get there eventually.

Qzh: I almost stopped reading after Tsunade kept smacking Naruto for no reason. Annoying as hell.

I realize it is beyond futile at this point, but allow me to reiterate for a final time those just joining us who didn't read the notes in previous chapters: I did not write the first two chapters of this story and kept them as is. While I could have easily changed them, that would have messed too much with the spirit of the story. I adopted this for what it was, not to change the beginning, bu to make it grow. So stop coming up with issues from chapters long gone, I'm not changing anything this far in.

Zalrok1: (He agrees with my assessment of Bleach from chapter six)

For those not in the know, Bleach gets a lot more bullshit in my opinion. I won't go through it again, and maybe I shouldn't judge so harshly, but I really disagree with the direction that went, and it probably should have stopped while it was ahead.

Kratosirrving: I can only hope you update soon because I really enjoy this story.

Normally I wouldn't include something like this, but I got it two days ago from when this chapter was posted, so I couldn't resist. Was that soon enough for you?

So with that, I'll end it. I can already assume you'll have multiple issues with this chapter from the flow of that one part, and I'm prepared to address your grievances, so if you want to tell me what I know I did wrong, or maybe what I don't know, feel free to inform me, just include an actual problem, not just saying I suck and leaving it at that. So, I'll end it now at 16,660 words.


	12. Among True Monsters

Okay, so let me preface this by saying when I announce there's a poll up in my profile asking which stories take preference in your opinion, and you go there, and you see that all that's there is an old poll that's been closed for well over a year and not what I promised, it's okay for you to not assume I'm just crazy or stressed and to fucking tell me the damn poll hasn't been up once in the six months when it was announced. That being said, go make up for lost time right now and vote for what story takes priority so I can get to work after this goddamn chapter. It's okay, I'll wait.

Now then, last chapter went over pretty goddamn well. There weren't really any complaints, but I suspect that's because I admitted to my faults more than anything. That being said, the biggest piece of criticism I saw was someone saying that Naruto was deliberately two-timing and wasn't really acting appropriately. I think that heavily influenced this chapter, so let it be known you do have some influence in this process. Needless to say, this chapter isn't as long as last, so let's get into it.

/

Chapter 12: Among True Monsters

As Mizore stood in the dimly lit office, next t a person she knew very little about and in front of a man she knew she didn't like who was laughing like a madman, she thought back to how she managed to find herself in this situation. Earlier that day, she had been spying on Naruto with Ryou when she saw the man she loved embrace another woman and kiss her. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like at the time. Witnessing the event had driven her to tears and had caused her to flee from the scene, with Ryou following after in an attempt to calm her. When the boy did catch up, Mizore recalled that he was surprisingly empathic, considering his affiliation.

"Hey, calm down," she remembered he said when he caught her in another secluded corridor. By this point she was limp and barley standing on her feet, barely listening to what the boy was saying as she replayed the scene in her mind. "Now, why are you crying?"

Initially, she thought he was just incredibly dim, and just wanted to be alone so she could figure out what to do. However, she suspected that if he had chased her already, he wasn't going to give up and would just keep pestering her. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible. Still, it was hard to tell her feelings to a stranger, it would be hard telling them to anyone, because it would just make them all the more real. If they remained exclusively in her head, she could write them off as a hallucination. But what good would that do? She realized that was just her being too afraid to face the truth. Besides, Ryou had been there, had seen what she had seen.

Eventually, she came out and said, in a tired voice, "He kissed her. I love him, and he said he loved me, so why did he kiss her?"

"No, you don't know that," Ryou said in a firm voice, shocking Mizore. Looking at him, she saw a startling level of conviction in his eyes as he said that. "What we saw was them embracing, that much we know, but we don't know why, and we don't know the results of that interaction because we didn't stick around. We don't know that they kissed because of the angle we were at, and it surprises me that you would think that the man you allegedly love and who loves you back would do that."

Hearing those words hurt her, but Mizore realized that he was right. She had no evidence that Naruto had kissed that woman, she only assumed. It was sickening to think that she had such little faith, and she didn't want to be the type of girlfriend who was overly possessive and ended up driving the person she loved away. She bowed her head in shame a, in a weak voice, simply said, "You're right." However, despite telling herself these things and admitting them aloud, she couldn't shake herself of all her doubts.

Unaware of what was going through the girl's head, Ryou had sighed in relief, pleased that this was going so well. "Now then, what this shows is that you are too easily threatened by other woman. I don't know why, because I doubt he'd risk his reputation by dating a student then cheat on her with a member of the faculty, plus you both seem nice enough that I can't imagine a problem like that would ever occur, but if you want my opinion, you need to do something to prove yourself worthy of his love, if not to him, to yourself, and become comfortable with your position."

"So what should I do?" asked Mizore, genuinely interested in what Ryou had to say at this point. This, however, caused the boy to blink in confusion.

"What?"

"What should I do to prove myself?" She asked again, making sure her eyes looked pleading. She thought his idea had merit and could actually help her out. She had thought he had at least planned this much out.

"Oh, well, you see, I didn't exactly think that far ahead. Um, but just give me a minute to think. I'm sure I'll help you figure something out."

As Ryou said this, Mizore just found herself staring at him, once again reevaluating her opinion about him. He wasn't exactly the most helpful person, but he tried, and in his case, that counted for a lot. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, but why did he stay around in and organization like the Student Safety Commission as the lowest ranked member? Before she could ponder further she noticed a grim look come across his face.

"Have you thought of something?" she asked.

Ryou's frown just deepened. "You could say that, but... I don't like it, and I doubt you will either."

"I'd still like to hear it."

"No, I don't think you would."

"Regardless, I doubt you could think up more than one or two ideas, good or bad, so you may as well tell me."

That seemed to do the trick as, while Ryou clearly became more depressed at hearing that, he did share his idea, "Look, you want to help Naruto-san, right? He can't take on the Student Safety Commission by himself, and if he chooses to do so, he will lose. But, you can help him."

By this point, Mizore was entrapped by Ryou's words. A way to help Naruto with the Student Safety Commission? Why would he of all people bring up an idea like this, and why would he think she wouldn't like it. As he continued, she found out.

"What I suggest is that you join the Student Safety Commission. I'll even vouch for you. That way you can mitigated whatever damage may be done to him and help us make him cease his efforts more quickly. After all, what better way to show your love for someone than by working to protect them?"

So that was it, Ryou intended to get her to suppress Naruto's efforts. That... wasn't what she was expecting. Mizore remained silent as she took in this information.

"See, I knew you wouldn't like the idea," the boy continued, sighing. However, Mizore shocked him with her decision.

"No, I like the idea, and I think it could work. I'll agree to it."

"Wha- really?" he asked in surprise. He quickly composed himself. "Err, maybe you should hold off on making a decision and think about it for a bit. You shouldn't rush something like this, especially if you aren't ready. Look, if you're still interested, I'll meet you outside the base later tonight. You still remember where it is, right?"

"Yes," Mizore replied. After that, the two went their separate ways. She had met up with Naruto and had reaffirmed herself in her decision. Ryou was right when he said that protecting someone was a good way of showing someone that you loved them, but so was helping them accomplish their goal. Sh would go along with Ryou's plan, but only after tweaking it a bit. It wouldn't be Naruto she planned to sabotage, but the whole of the Student Safety Commission. Of course, that had it's own difficulties associated with it, and for it to work, she would have to appear to be truly working with them, which was going to be difficult. But, to aid Naruto, she was willing to go through this hardship. Still, in order to go through with it, she still needed to be accepted into the organization. She knew convincing the man in front of her of her genuineness came second to just getting him to agree to accepting her.

As Kuyou finally calmed down, he stood up from his desk an walked around it until he stood in front of her and Ryou, a cruel smirk on his face as he eyed Mizore. "Shirayuki-san, was it? I must admit I'm surprised to see you here again, especially after the initial and subsequent issues with Uzumaki-sensei. I know the first time you were here you said you were interested in joining, but what made you come back? Why join now?"

Mizore took a deep breath and stated the reason Ryou gave her to join. "Honestly, Naruto-sensei is the reason I want to join. If he continues trying to disrupt your operations, I fear he will only end up hurting himself and, if worse comes to worse, he may just cause too many problems and the school may just let him go. I don't want that, but in my current position, I can't do anything to stop him. By joining the Student Safety Commission, it is my hope that I'll be able to get him to cease his attempts before he makes too many more mistakes."

"Oh, really?" Kuyou asked, arching an eyebrow as he eyed the girl in front of him, chuckling a bit more. He kept his gaze on Mizore for a few moments, the girl meeting him head on and refusing to yield, before turning on Ryou. "Koizumi-kun, would you go and fetch your Senpai? I"m pretty sure he's aimlessly wandering the halls like usual."

"Oh, of course, sir," Ryou responded clumsily, bowing just as awkwardly before rushing out of the room to complete his task as soon ass possible.

With the red-haired boy gone, Kuyou once again directed his attention to Mizore. "Now then, you say you want to help thwart Uzumaki-sensei in order to protect him. That's fair enough, and may in fact help our efforts immensely. However, that is merely speculation. In truth, I know nothing of your abilities, though that can be taken care of easily enough, and I trust Koizumi-kun wouldn't escort you here unless he thought you had potential. What really worries me is your squeamishness. As I recall, you looked rather distressed when that issue with that prisoner arose."

"I understand your concern," Mizore replied without missing a beat, frowning a bit as she remembered that incident. "I will readily, I am not accustomed to violence, and I am not interested in the enforcement aspects of the Commission, if you don't mind me saying."

Kuyou once again arched one of his eyebrows, but this time, there was no sign of amusement on his face, only perplexity. Regardless, Mizore forged on, knowing this would be the only way she would be able to make it in the organization.

"As I said, my only concern is with stopping Naruto-sensei, nothing else. Therefore, I believe it would be more proper if I joined the information division. You do have one of those, don't you?"

"Not officially," Kuyou replied, before redirecting the conversation. "I must admit, your words worry me. You are being far too forward, and, while that in and of itself isn't a problem, your stated lack of concern for the Commission itself does pose an issue. Without loyalty for this organization, how can I ensure that you won't turn on us?"

"My loyalty lies with Naruto-sensei," Mizore once again stated, fearless in front of a man she should by all rights be more intimidated by, especially now that the novelty of the situation had seemed to have worn off on him. "Therefore, it is in my interest to see to it that his actions end as soon as possible, for his own good. That is how you ensure I will work with you with both our interests in mind."

Kuyou seemed to ponder this for a few moment, looking the girl up an down, reevaluating her with new eyes. Mizore remained perfectly still and kept staring forwards. Finally, the head of the Student Safety Commission spoke once again. "While far from ideal, I suppose I can work with that. However, there is still that matter of your position within the organization. While I agree, as you are, you don't seem fit for enforcement duty, that is more of a senior operation anyway. However, I have reservations about assigning you to information duty. It is a very delicate position, requiring not only a certain amount of skill, but also trust, both of which are qualities I find myself questioning in you. I agree, that is where you will be the most useful, and for the moment, I am willing to overlook the issue of trust, as that can be settled at a latter date. The most important thing to gauge is your skill, and we have just the person to test you."

As Kuyou said this, there was a knock on the door, and, without waiting for a response, the person on the other side opened it, revealing Naoki with a worried looking Ryou in tow.

"Ah, perfect timing," Kuyou replied upon seeing the two, a smile once again coming to his face.

"What is it you need?" Naoki asked as his eyes scanned the small room, his grey orbs coming to rest upon Mizore.

"It seems we have a promising new recruit who shares an interest with you. Would you see to it that she understands what she's getting into?"

Mizore didn't like the smirk on Kuyou's face, nor the words he chose to use. Why was he telling this person she was 'promising', and what did he mean by a similar interest? Still, despite whatever reservations she had, she was determined to see this through to the end and would endure whatever hardship came in order to aid Naruto.

"If that is what you wish," Naoki said in a serious tone, though it was clear that his deferential attitude was mocking more than anything. He became more genuine as he turned to Mizore and said, "If you would follow me," before turning and walking out of the room, not bothering to check if the girl was following him or not. It didn't matter as Mizore followed him regardless, leaving just Kuyou and Ryou behind, the latter clearly feeling out of place as he shifted on his feet.

"Um, I guess I'll be going now," Ryou said as he bowed and turned to leave.

"I actually wanted you to stay a bit longer."

Kuyou's words stopped the other in his tracks and caused him to go rigid before he quickly spun around to meet the eyes of his superior, nervously asking, "Yes, of course! What do you need?"

Chuckling, the blond replied, "Relax, Koizumi-kun. I just wanted to congratulate you on your hard work."

"R-really?" Ryou asked, the words putting him at ease.

"Yes. In fact, looking over your past work, reports I've received, and recent developments, it's clear to me that you could be put to better use outside of guard duty."

The red-haired boy took a moment to digest this information, his mouth gaping open and his eyes quickly adopting an excited glow. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, I think it is due time you've moved up in our ranks," Kuyou said, a proud smile on his face as he chuckled at Ryou's enthusiasm. "It only makes sense after all, seeing as your mentor may soon be busy training a new member. Welcome to the Enforcement Division, Koizumi-kun."

"Thank you!" Ryou shouted, bowing deeply. "Oh man, I need to go tell the other guys! Oh, and write to my brother! I need to thank Naoki-senpai! There's so much to do! Thank you again, I promise I'll make you proud!"

With that, Ryou, rushed out of the room, leaving Kuyou chuckling to himself. "Of course," he said to no one, his smile becoming darker, "it's what I expect, after all."

/Meanwhile/

Mizore silently followed Naoki through the halls of the facility, trying to remember the layout for the future. Even if she wasn't accepted into the organization, knowing how to get around the place may prove to be invaluable information in the future. It seemed that she was being taken along a route that didn't see much foot traffic, as she saw no other members of the Student Safety Commission along the path they took, nor in any of the small offices they passed. Then again, it was getting a bit late, so they could have left for all she knew.

Before long, they had reached a large archway, and Naoki ushered her through. The first thing Mizore noticed was that the ceiling was raised twenty or so feet, a farcry for the compact complex she had come to expect. In fact, the whole room seemed to be in contrast to what Mizore had seen so far, being much bigger in general than any other room and better lit. The floor was covered in mats, giving it the appearance of a dojo, and there was a door on the far side of the room, leading to what Mizore could only assume was a locker room.

"What is this?" Mizore asked Naoki, noticing as he walked to a side of the room and removed his uniform top, leaving him in a plain white shirt.

"This is a training area," he replied simply, raising his voice slightly so that he could be heard. "Personally, I prefer to do this outside, as I find this space restricting, but I suppose for our purposes this will do."

"What do you mean," she asked, becoming more nervous as the scarred man began to stretch.

"The Student Safety Commission has very strict standards, both academic and physical. As this is a school, the knowledge of our members is very important, as they rarely attend class, though that can be gauged easily enough by looking through your current grades and testing at later dates. However, there's only one surefire way to test you physical condition." Then, turning his cold eyes to Mizore, he said, "You should prepare yourself. Feel free to use any powers you have; there will be no restrictions placed on you during this fight."

Now Mizore was really worried. While she had stretched the truth and even flatout lied in her meeting with Kuyou, she was being honest when she said she wasn't accustomed to violence. "This is unnecessary," she tried to protest. "I have no interest in being an enforcer...-!"

Before she could continue, she was forced to duck as Naoki bounded across the room in an instant and threw a punch at her. Only her natural athleticism had allowed her to move out of the way in time.

"You think that matters?" he asked as he looked down at her and snapped his leg forward in a kick, only barely missing as Mizore rolled away. "Even information gatherers need to be physically strong and prepared to fight in the event that they get cornered or turned on, otherwise they're bound to get burned."

As he said that, Naoki straightened up and absent-mindedly ran his hand across his scar a reminiscent look on his face. Mizore took this time to weigh her options. Naoki stood between her and the door, and with his surprising speed, it was doubtful she could make it by him. The door to the supposed locker room was behind her, but the distance was so great that again Naoki was bound to catch her before she reached it. Besides, there was no guarantee that it led to an exit, and if it did, she wouldn't know where she was, as all the hallways looked the same. But, why was she trying to run? Wasn't she determined to join? Besides, noting the sheathed sword on Naoki's side, and the fact that, despite him saying she was free to use any powers, he still seemed to be not using any powers, it was almost as if he was holding back. If that were the case, she might be able to win, especially if he was underestimating her.

Taking a deep breath, Mizore made her decision, focusing on the condensation in the air, she drew that moisture to her. Large, crystalline blades began to grow from her fingers, forming claws on bother hands, as her hair became pale and clear like glass. This seemed to catch Naoki's attention.

"Ice, huh?" he asked a frown on his face. He then shrugged. "Well, at least you're taking this seriously."

As he spoke to himself, he didn't notice as Mizore ran towards him until she was right in front of him. Crouching low, she rose up and sliced at him. Unprepared for this, Naoki raised an arm to block. Mizore felt confident, if a bit uncomfortable, as the razor sharp ice sliced into his flesh.

Or, she thought she had sliced him. Expecting blood to start flowing, she was shocked to see that his bare flesh was still intact, not even blemished by her strike. Lifting his arm a bit, Naoki revealed his cold and unamused eyes to Mizore. "Nice try, but you'll need to try harder than that to pass."

While she wasn't expecting this turn of events, Mizore had a Plan B. once again focusing on the moisture around them, and using her claws as a catalyst, the girl managed to freeze the large man's arm, but not before he threw a kick out at her. She managed to block with her free hand, but was still pushed back by the force of the kick.

As he looked down at his arm, Naoki saw he grimace reflected in the ice. "Wasn't expecting that," he admitted, before raising his other arm and smashing the through the ice with a punch.

Mizore frowned. She had intended to freeze his whole body, but as it was, there wasn't enough moisture in the air; the facility was remarkably well sealed. While she could use his own internal water against him to get the job done, that could have long-lasting side effects on his body such a permanent paralysis of extremities, of even death. Of course, if she could help it, she would keep her distance all together use an underground water source to help freeze him from afar, but, again, the base was too well sealed to aloe that. Close-quarters was her only option.

Flexing his arm, Naoki once again directed his attention to Mizore. He saw as she once again charged forward, and this time he was prepared to meet her head on. Once more shocked by his speed, Mizore attempted to dodge to the side to get behind him and strike from there, only to find the movement halted and her head violently jerked back as Naoki managed to grab onto her frozen hair.

Kicking out backwards, Naoki landed a kick in the small of Mizore's back, causing her to arch further. Then, releasing her hair, Naoki dropped low to sweep her feet out from under her from the front, causing her to pitch forward horribly off balance. Springing back up, the man then spun around to her front and met her with a rising punch to her stomach.

Mizore's eyes widened as she took the final blow head on, the air forced from her lungs and her lollipop flying from her mouth as she crumpled to the floor before Naoki, gasping for breath as both tears and spittle rolled down her face. The man just watched with a bored look on his face as the girl curled into a ball. Shakily, she reached out and grabbed one of his legs with her claws in a final attempt to freeze him. A thin sheet of ice coated around where she grabbed before Naoki shook her off, stomping on the offending claw and shattering both it and the ice on his leg with the force of it, but leaving Mizore's actual hand unharmed

With that, he walked back to the other side of the room and picked up his discarded uniform top, clearly finished with the so called test of Mizore's physical ability. As he put his clothing back on, he spoke to the motionless girl on the floor. "While I'm not impressed, admittedly you didn't do too bad, even if you didn't last long. Hell, I half expected you to go down with that first punch, and though you didn't actually injure me, you managed to land a blow that would have seriously wounded most others. But your reckless. The environment clearly wasn't suited for you, yet you rushed in head on with only a simple plan."

By this point, the man had finished dressing and made her way back toward Mizore. Seeing that the fight was over, the girl saw fit to let her remaining ice claw dissolve as her hair returned to it's previous purple color, and decided to focus on regulating her breathing so she could work to get back on her feet. Naoki apparently wasn't going to wait for her, though, and to her surprise, lifted Mizore up and supported her with his body as he began walking out of the room with her. Startled, she initially stumbled, but quickly found her footing as she leaned heavily on the grey-eyed man as they walked. Seeing that the girl accepted his help, a shallow way to make up for the pain he had dealt to her, he continued with his analysis.

"Another thing; your long hair is a liability. You could do it up in a bun, but I would suggest cutting cutting it. Also, it's dangerous to fight with suckers in your mouth. You could choke on them."

"Why are you telling me this?" Mizore asked as she was led back through the halls to the exit. She didn't like being patronized and felt more than a bit of resentment for the man beside her. He also scared her with how powerful he was. From what she could tell, he wasn't even being serious. Tenderly feeling her stomach, she winced, already knowing a big bruise was going to form and had probably already started. She hated being helped by him at this point, but, while she could walk on her own at this point, it made her feel better making Naoki help her. At this point, she reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and retrieved another lollipop, hearing Naoki scoff at her question.

"Because I'm your mentor now," he said, surprising the girl. "Well, I guess it's not official, but I suspect as much. We'll just say you passed the physical and I have hopes for you."

By this point, the had reached the exit, and had emerged outside. The orange sun hung low in the sky and was dipping into the horizon, letting Mizore know relatively how late it was. She noticed, like when she had arrived with Ryou, there were no guards to be seen. Naoki now let Mizore stand on her own two feet.

"Now then, be sure you get some sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday, isn't it? I want to see you here by Seven." Seeing the questioning look on Mizore's face, he elaborated. "We'll continue with the test then. You want to help gather information for the Commission, right? Well, tomorrow we'll be spending the day doing just that. I'll be expecting you."

The purple-haired girl watched as Naoki retreated into the distance, noting that he wasn't heading toward the dorms. She found herself wondering what exactly to think about him. While he seemed rather abrasive at first, he had actually warmed up to her rather quickly after their fight. Maybe, like Ryou, he wasn't as bad as first impression led her to believe. She shook her head at that thought and instead began to head toward her dorm. Whatever he was like, she had to remember to watch her step around him. He was dangerous, with both speed and power that were plain to see even if he was holding back. Added to the fact that he was incredibly hard to damage, and the fact that it was difficult to tell what was going through his head, it made him all the more intimidating, more so than Kuyou, potentially. Tomorrow would hopefully give her more information to go off of, in any event. Until then, she would think a bit about what he said, and be thankful that he had avoided giving her any obvious injuries.

/Girls' Dorms/

Kurumu found herself worrying more than usual. She was worried about a lot of things: about how the situation with the Student Safety Commission was going to play out, about how much more trouble Naruto was going to cause them, about if Tsukune was going to choose her over Moka, and about how the plan with the Newspaper Club would affect things. More than anything else, though, she was worried about Mizore.

It started when she her her the first time that day. When she saw that she had been crying, she wondered what could drive someone who was always so composed to tears. After that situation with Naruto, she was again shocked, both that Mizore had opened up to him, that he had reciprocated her feelings, and that both had done so knowing that he could leave at any time. Initially, she had assumed that this was what had caused her to cry, the grief of inevitable separation, but thinking back now, that didn't fit. She had said that she had confessed after she had learned that he could just leave whenever, and while it was possible all that happened earlier in the day, it seemed like this had all happened earlier, mainly because the blond had acted like it was the first time he had seen any of them that day. Also, if they assumed that those two had been together before they all met, there simply wasn't enough time for the confession to happen them to part, and for Naruto to receive some information he needed to tell the girl after they left each other.

In short, Mizore had mislead them. In Kurumu's mind, the girl had known this information prior and had used it as a cover up. So that left the questions of where Mizore had been prior to them meeting, why she had been crying, and what had caused her to kiss Naruto without a second thought, as if she needed to show her love.

Then, there was the meeting with the Newspaper Club. Or, rather, with the supervisor, as all there was at the unmanned booth was a box full of old articles and a crudely made sign directing them to the classroom, where they met Nekonome. Mizore had again given her reason to worry, acting very passive-aggressive in the presence of the woman, and, to Kurumu, on the verge of hostility with the ice cold stares she sent at her back. No one else seemed to notice, and when she asked Yukari, the young witch just thought Mizore was being shy. She knew this wasn't the case, and had uncovered more information form Moka, as Nekonome were her and Tsukune's homeroom teacher. From what she could gather, she was a nice person, if not a bit eccentric in her own way. In fact, she had been likened a bit to Naruto, just less intense, but what really surprised her was that those two had a really good relationship, and other members of their class had thought that those two might even start a romance, Tsukune included.

Could that have incited Mizore's behavior back in then? In Kurumu's mind, there was more to it, and she was afraid that it was connected to Mizore's tears. Just what had that blond asshole done to hurt that girl, and, in turn cause her to worry so much about her friend. That was why she found herself now standing in front of that friend's door.

Taking a breath, she knocked on the door and waited for a response. And muffled, "Just a minute," came from beyond, followed by the sounds of objects shuffling around on the floor and footsteps approaching. The door cracked, and on the other side Kurumu saw Mizore's surprised face.

"Hey," Kurumu said, a bit uneasy. She hadn't really planned on what to do beyond this, and was now at a loss for what to do. The simplest thing would be to come out with the truth, but was that really appropriate. True, they were friends, but looking back at the time they've known each other, Kurumu couldn't really say they were particularly close. But then again, she was here now and she was worried for Mizore, that had to count for something, right? Added to the fact that there wasn't much else she could think to do, Kurumu decided to go with it. "This is sudden, but do you think we could talk?"

Mizore seemed to think about it for a bit, looked behind her, then back at Kurumu. For a moment, the blue-haired girl thought she was going to be turned away, until sh heard, "Sure, it's a bit messy, but come on in."

With that, she moved away from the door, allowing Kurumu to enter. Taking a deep breath, she thought about how to further go about this as she followed, closing the door behind her. As she turned around, she was shock, almost enough to let out a gasp, to find that her friend looked different. For one, she wasn't wearing the sweatshirt Kurumu was used to seeing her in, instead opting for a tight black tank top that showed off her rather sizable bust (though not as sizable as Kurumu herself). That was trivial however, as what really caught her off guard was that Mizore had apparently chopped away much of her previously long hair, leaving her now short hair very rough. On the floor beside Mizore, Kurumu could see a hand mirror, a pair of scissors, and locks of discarded purple hair.

Looking back at the girl, Mizore didn't seem to mind, and perhaps even expected this reaction. However, what really caught her was that, at the moment, Mizore's hair had a passing resemblance to Nekonome. Kurumu frowned as she realized this, but quickly composed herself as she thought of something to say. "You know, you should really do something like this n the bathroom. It's easier to clean up."

The other girl shrugged at this, saying, "It's fine, I can get it later."

"And you should really ask for help."

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Kurumu felt like she was being written off with these responses, but decided not to get to worked up about it. She wasn't here to get in a fight about such a silly thing. Besides, this was actually good, as it gave her an opening. Walking over, she picked up the scissors and turned to Mizore. "Sit down, I'll even this up for you."

"You don't need to, I can do it myself," Mizore tried to protest, but this time it was Kurumu's turn to brush off the others concerns.

"It's fine, I know how hard this can be. You know, asking for help isn't something you should worry about, even if this was meant to be a surprise, because we're friends, and friends are there to help." As she said this, Kurumu smiled. "Besides, I doubt Naruto-sensei would appreciate it if I let his girlfriend go out like this." She then chuckled. "Then again, with how cute you are, I doubt he'd mind very much."

Mizore blushed, but looked appreciative as she nodded and sat down on the floor. Kurumu knelt behind her as she set to work fixing the purple-haired girl's handiwork. As she did so, she thought of a casual topic of conversation that would eventually lead her to discover the reason behind Mizore's actions.

"So, Naruto-sensei, huh?"

"Yes."

"Why him?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"There's a lot of reasons. We're both active, he's fun to be around, and he has strong beliefs, which I can respect. We're both around the same age, so there shouldn't be a problem, and beyond that, he's a nice guy."

As Mizore defended her boyfriend, Kurumu frowned. "There's a lot of nice guys," she stated over the clipping sound coming from the scissors. "Besides, he causes a lot of trouble. No offense, but I would've expected someone as quiet as you to choose someone more... plain."

"Contrary to popular belief, I actually like that kind of wild attitude." She paused, and then said, "Would you have preferred if I had gone after Tsukune-kun?"

Kurumu halted in snipping Mizore's hair in a more acceptable fashion as she heard this. It took her a moment to realize the girl in front of her was joking, and, though she couldn't see it, she bet she was smiling to herself. That set her at ease as she decided to play along, pushing her breasts into Mizore's back. "I don't think it would matter too much, as I clearly have the advantage over you. But I would invite the competition."

"Just because your tits are big doesn't mean you can win his love," Mizore said off-handedly, causing the other to frown. She then caught her totally off-guard as she squeezed her own breasts between her arms to make them look bigger and turned to look at Kurumu. "Besides, I can be quite charming myself."

Kurumu found herself laughing at this, and Mizore also seemed to be in a good mood. Well, that was something, Kurumu told herself. Still, she had to remind herself there was a reason she was there. Looking back to the floor, she noticed a discarded slip of paper. She became more somber as she realized it was a club activities form for the Newspaper Club. After their meeting in the classroom, most of them had decided that they liked that club the best and had filled out their papers, going so far as to hand them in to the club supervisor, but Kurumu had noticed that Mizore hadn't filled anything out. That was probably a good thing to ask about.

"You know, club forms are due on Sunday," she remarked.

"Yes, I still have time to fill it out."

"And what did you think of the Newspaper Club?" Kurumu asked, trying to probe deeper.

"All of you seemed to enjoy it."

"That wasn't my question."

"It seems fine."

Kurumu found herself sighing at that response. It seemed Mizore was getting defensive, and that would make getting answers from her more difficult. Maybe she should stop beating around the bush and just be more direct with her questions.

"Are you going to join the Newspaper Club: yes or no?"

Mizore was surprised by this line of questioning, and lowered her head as she thought about it, making Kurumu's job a bit harder. The truth was bound to come out sooner or later, that she wouldn't join, but she wished that she had had more time to think of a better excuse. Still, maybe this was better, as, instead of facing a group, she was facing Kurumu, who she felt she had the best relationship with. A group confrontation was bound to come, but at least she could start with this.

"No," was the response that came after a few minutes, causing Kurumu to slow her work, a pensive look on her face.

"So, what will you join instead?"

"I haven't thought too much about it, but I was thinking a sports club."

"Which one?"

"I just said I haven't thought too much about it."

Hearing the same uncommitted answer over and over again was really starting to irritate Kurumu, so much so that she was beginning to wonder if the reason Mizore was acting like this wasn't because of someone other than Nekonome or Naruto. Putting down the scissors and ceasing her work completely, causing Mizore to turn and meet her perturbed face, the girl decided she needed an actual reason for all this.

"Please, Mizore-chan, I need an answer; why aren't you joining the Newspaper Club? Is it because you really don't enjoy it, or do you think that by joining a sports club you might be able to see Naruto-sensei more? Is it because you don't want to be around us?"

"No!" Mizore almost shouted. Leaning in closer and surprising Kurumu as she said that. Realizing what she had done, she leaned back and looked away. "It's not that. Why would you think that?"

Seeing Mizore's hurt look at her insinuation, Kurumu tried to keep a stern face, still looking for answers, but couldn't help but soften up a bit. Seeing that her friend still wasn't going to give up details, Kurumu took one last stab in the dark.

"Is it because of Nekonome-sensei?"

Hearing the name, Mizore looked back, surprised. "How di-...?!"

That was all the reaction needed, as before the purple-haired girl could continue, Kurumu cut her off, "I've heard some rumors. Look, I can understand how you may feel intimidated by her, I mean, she and Naruto-sensei are apparently close, and might see each other a lot, but from what I can tell, they're just friends. Besides, while he may be a nuisance, I can see that he is a really nice guy, and I doubt he would hurt you by saying he loved you just to fool around with some other girl, let alone hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it, so you have nothing to worry about."

Hearing Kurumu say that touched Mizore, and though she wanted to tell her the truth, she knew she couldn't, as the other would just protest and drag the others into it, maybe even Naruto himself. Still, seeing the pleading look in Kurumu's eyes, she knew she had to give her something. Sighing, Mizore locked eyes with her friend and said, "It may be true that I'm wary of Nekonome-sensei, but that's not why I'm not joining the Newspaper Club. You know, Tsukune-kun said he was joining so that they could use popular opinion to take down the Student Safety Commission, but I don't think that will work. From what I can tell, sentiment for the group is already poor, so I don't know what a few articles will do."

"So you found your own way to help?" Kurumu asked, filling in the blanks. Mizore nodded her head. "Care to tell me how?"

"I want to, I really do, but if you knew, you'd be against it, and you would try to stop me, either by yourself or by getting the others to help, and I can't have that. So that's why, as your friend, I'm asking you, please, don't tell anyone about this, don't try to stop me, and don't ask me anymore, because I don't like making excuses. Please, just trust that I know what I'm doing."

As Kurumu digested Mizore's request, she found herself become angered. She was only partially angry at the girl herself, as she had used their friendship as a barrier to stop her from meddling any further. More than that, however, she was angry at the whole situation that had made Mizore act like this, she was angry that Naruto had made such a big impact on everyone, well aware that he was there temporarily, and, most of all, she was angry at the Student Safety Commission for exacerbating everything. Gritting her teeth, Kurumu found that her only option here was to let all her frustration out in a tired, heavy sigh, and, placing her comforting hands on the girl's bare shoulders, look back at Mizore with compassion. "As your friend, it hurts me to know that there's nothing I can do to help, but I also trust your judgment. If you say you can handle this by yourself, I'll believe you, but I also trust that if you need any help of run into any trouble, you'll know that, as your friends, me and the others will help however we can."

Mizore found herself returning Kurumu's sad smile, and said the only thing she could in that situation. "Thank you."

Comforted by the fact that she had gotten her friend to open up and get a bit of information, Kurumu then patted Mizore on the shoulder, picking the scissors back up as she said, "Now, turn back around. I've still got a little left to do."

Mizore complied, and as Kurumu resumed snipping, the two found themselves idly chatting, much more at ease now that the little bump in their relationship had been overcome. Now that she had been opened up to, Kurumu even went through the effort of helping Mizore come up with a cover story to explain why she wouldn't join the Newspaper Club. That didn't stop her from thinking of other things, however. It hurt to know that Mizore thought nothing would come from writing a newspaper. It was almost like a slap to the face, but, Kurumu couldn't exactly fault her. Initially, she wasn't too big on the idea other, not wanting to stir thing up more than they already were. However, now she understood the stakes better, and thought that the clever use of words could be a very dangerous thing, as long as everything was planned correctly. Previously preoccupied with the desire to maintain the status quo as much as possible, the blue-haired girl now found herself dreaming about revolution.

It wasn't long after that Kurumu finished cutting Mizore's hair. Picking up the hand mirror, Mizore looked at her reflection and smiled. "Thank you, it looks much better now."

Laughing, Kurumu replied, "Yeah, well, I still think long hair suits you better, but you look pretty cute like this too!" Then, looking to the clock on the wall, the girl let out a low whistle. "Wow, it's getting late, you need any help cleaning up before I leave?"

Mizore shook her head, a bit uncomfortable now that her hair didn't sway as much when she did that. "No, I can get it."

sighing, Kurumu got up and went to the door, followed by Mizore. As she placed her hand on the door handle, she turned back to her friend and asked, "Will we see you tomorrow?"

Mizore frowned, and, while that was enough to answer Kurumu's question, she decided to elaborate. "I don't think so. At least, not until possibly later in the day."

"Well, I guess I'll figure out something to tell the others, maybe that you have a club interview with one of the sports clubs?" Kurumu shrugged as she threw out the idea, though it was clear she didn't like the prospect of lying to the others. With that, she left, and Mizore locked the door behind her, sighing as she did so.

Looking to the clock, then to the mess on the floor, she decided to go to sleep and then clean up in the morning, tired from her unexpected encounter with and interrogation by Kurumu. Besides, it would be best to be well rested for her meeting with Naoki on the morning. Minding the debris on the floor, Mizore tuned off her light, stepped out of her skirt and stockings, and headed for her bed.

/Morning/

By the time the sun was rising, Mizore awoke, well rested from the previous night. Yawing as she sat up, she ran a hand through her shortened hair and frowned, forgetting that she has cut it for a moment. She hoped that this was what Naoki had in mind so that she could gain his approval and, more than that, that Naruto would like it.

Leaving the comfort of her bed completely, Mizore looked at the clock to see how much time she had before her meeting, then proceeded to take a shower (tenderly washing her stomach where, as she had expected, a large bruise had now formed), get dressed, and, right before leaving, make some toast to eat on her way to the meeting spot. She worked to be silent as she exited both her room and the door complex, not wanting to wake anyone and thereby alert them to her presence.

She then followed dirt path that would lead her to the entrance of the Student Safety Commission. From the pace she was going, she would reach her destination with plenty of time to spare, and guessed that she could have afforded to have more than toast for breakfast. However, she supposed toast was enough, and saw value in slowing her pace a bit. Had she kept up her previous speed, she probably wouldn't have met someone at the intersection in the path further on.

As it happened, she instead ran into the last person she expected, causing both her and him to stop dead in their tracks in surprise. However, the man was quick to recover, and he approached Mizore with a characteristically bright smile on his face.

"Hey, Shirayuki-chan!" Naruto said as he approached. He stopped a few feet away, unsure of what to do. It was true that they were dating, but the blond was very uncomfortable with his current situation. Besides, he was still new to this, and even in a normal situation would be at a loss for what to do. Was he supposed to greet her with a kiss, or was that too forward? Luckily, he didn't have to worry himself with that, as, though she was surprised by their encounter, Mizore was prepared and met Naruto half-way, reaching up and capturing his lips in a kiss, but breaking off before he had a chance to reciprocate. He really had to get used to that, as it seemed to happen whenever they met now. Feeling that the situation was made more awkward and unsure of what to really do after that, he said the first thing that came to mind, "Nice haircut. It looks good on you."

The blond resumed smiling, then did a double-take. When did she get a haircut, and why? As she thanked him for the complement he decided to ask.

"Why did you decide to cut it, though?"

Looking into Naruto's curious blue eyes, Mizore found it difficult to lie to him. Still, she couldn't tell him the real reason, and knew that eventually she would need to start misleading him, and hope that he wouldn't take too much offense when the truth eventually did come out. Thinking back to the conversation she had with Kurumu the previous night, she decided to use that reasoning.

"I decided to join a sports club, and figured that long hair would get in the way."

"You didn't like the Newspaper Club?" Naruto asked, surprised and slightly disappointed. He had wanted Mizore and the others to spend more time with each other, since he had seen improvement in all of their behaviors since they had started hanging out together. Still, if Mizore was widening her horizons and could make more friends, that was good. Maybe this was actually for the best. He actually didn't want Shizuka and Mizore to interact with each other more than they needed to, as bad as he knew that sounded. After all, if they found out about one another, it wouldn't be good for anyone. He wanted them to know the truth, he wanted them to eventually get along, but he needed to sort out how to go about it first. He needed to time it right and make sure both understood the situation, or else risk hurting them more than needed. And, if all went well, he may very well end up with a harem.

Wait, what? The moment that thought crossed Naruto's mind, he found that he was scowling at himself. For starters, that thought was too much like something Jiraiya would think for him to be comfortable. This was a very serious situation, and there was no room for such a thought. Sure, he would love if that could happen, but he had to keep a realistic view, especially after he had made such a big mess. There was a limit to his selfishness, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to hit himself.

Before the blond could delve much deeper into the spiral of self-loathing, Mizore's voice brought him back to reality. "It's not that didn't like it. I want to spend more time with everyone, but I just have different interests. Sports suit me better."

"I see. So what club are you joining?"

Mizore began to panic hearing this question, as she hadn't thought that far. She couldn't afford to be vague like she had with Kurumu, as it didn't work in that situation, and it was bound to fail here. The girl made a snap decision and went with the first thing that came to mind.

"Karate!" she said, a bit rushed, causing Naruto to give her a strange look.

"Karate?" the blond parroted, to which Mizore nodded. "Do we have a Karate Club?"

"Yes," Mizore replied, this time calmer and more confident in her answer. She had seen the booth, so she was sure it existed.

"Huh," the blond shrugged, "wasn't expecting that." His mind then went in a different direction, realizing the time and day. "Why are you up this early, anyway?"

"I'm going for a run to train for the Karate Club," the girl automatically replied, this response coming out more naturally as she quickly adapted to inventing details to hide her true intentions. That didn't mean the logic applied actually worked in every situation.

"Wearing that?" Naruto questioned, eying Mizore's usual attire that clearly wasn't fit for running in, let along doing most exercises.

Looking down at herself, Mizore blushed and said, "My gym uniform is dirt," hoping that he would by it.

"Oh, that makes sense," Naruto said, more to himself than to Mizore, causing the girl to sigh in relief. It was good that he believed her, but it just made her feel worse about deceiving him. At that point, she wanted to part ways with him, but was also curious about his presence.

"What about you? Why are you up so early?"

Naruto gave a good-natured chuckle. "One of the perks of being a teacher is that you have early morning meetings sometimes." Despite the big smile on his face, it was clear that the blond wasn't the biggest fan of such meetings. Still, that didn't answer all of Mizore's questions.

Looking down the path the blond had come from, the girl knew that neither the blond's residence nor was his office in that direction. In fact, is she was correct, the path was a dead end that led to a thick patch of dead trees, beyond which was a cliff with a scenic overlook of the ocean.

Before she could spend too much time wondering why he would be in that area, it occurred to Mizore that she could be running late for her own meeting. She needed to leave, even if part of her did just want to spend more time with the blond.

"Well then, I guess we should both be off."

"Yeah, guess you're right. Good luck with your training," Naruto said, before leaning in and kissing Mizore. As he moved in, he had thought about stopping, seeing as he was uncomfortable doing this with either Mizore or Shizuka and, in his mind, leading them on, but as he had already started moving, he figured it would just hurt the girl if he stopped halfway. Besides, it was a chance to catch her off-guard and get revenge. It was just a quick peck, and he broke off before the girl fully realized what was happening, before simply walking off, looking behind him to see Mizore blushing furiously before the girl ran off. The scene caused him to smile. One thing was for sure, the girl never failed to make him happy. It never occurred to him that the direction she was running would lead her to the base of the Student Safety Commission. Likewise, it never occurred to Mizore that the whole encounter could have been witnessed by someone who could potentially jeopardize her happiness.

Nevertheless, Mizore continued on, and soon found herself in front of the underground base. As expected, Naoki was there waiting for her, stoney-faced as he regarded her. Idly, the girl noticed two people she didn't recognize standing in front of the entrance, most likely on guard duty. As she approached, she heard the scarred man remark, "You're early; not by much, but still, that's a good trait to have. And you cut your hair. Good job."

"Thank you," Mizore said, bowing slightly. She was discouraged when she heard Naoki scoff.

"Don't bow to someone who hasn't earned it." He didn't seem too bothered, though, as he quickly let the issue go. "Still, at you've shown you're taking this seriously. Let's go."

And with that, Mizore was led off to show her powers of espionage with the enigma that was Naoki watching over her and giving her direction.

/Meanwhile/

Naruto hadn't lied when he said that he was going to attend a meeting. However, he also hadn't been entirely telling the truth. In actuality, he was first going to meet up with Shizuka. He told himself that there was really no reason to hide this from Mizore, but there also wasn't any reason to tell her, either. If anything, it may just make him look suspicious.

Again, the blond loathed himself for thinking like that. Saying he was suspicious was like saying he was intentionally trying to hide something. And he supposed that was technically true, but... no it wasn't like that! He was going to let her know, let them both know, but it wasn't the right time yet. That was what he told himself, but it didn't make him feel any better. This situation was purely his fault, ha had been selfish and hadn't considered anyone's feelings when he dug himself into this hole, and now he was going to pay for it. That was fine. At this point, he just wanted to avoid hurting Shizuka's and Mizore's feelings. There had to be a way!

Feeling more than a little depressed, he approached Shizuka's classroom. It would have been easier and faster to enter from outside through the window, but after being told countless times not to do it, he had learned, with help from his colleague's ruler. Besides, the walk gave him time to think about his situation. Standing in front of the door, he put on a happy face; he couldn't let the woman see him looking troubled, or else she would get worried. A bit of weariness was still visible, but that was fine.

Grabbing the handle, the blond swung open the door and was about to yell an energetic greeting, only to find that he had walked into another meeting. "So these are the initial applicants, huh?" asked a familiar black-haired boy as he held a sheaf of papers. The person in front of him smiled.

"Yes."

"Somehow I thought there'd be more," the boy said, shrugging.

"In any case, it's more than enough to keep the club afloat for another year."

"That's true." Here the boy smiled as he looked through the papers, a smile that Naruto didn't appreciate too much. "Plus it seems that most of these are chicks. Tell me, how cute are they?"

At this, Shizuka laughed a little, but both the look she gave the boy and the words she spoke had a dangerous edge to them. "Now then, Ginei-kun, you wouldn't be having impure thoughts, would you? If you are, I'm sure Naruto-chan here would be kind enough to set you straight."

Gin looked confused at hearing them name, turning only to find the blond standing in the doorway, causing the boy to jump in surprise. Naruto still didn't know what exactly was going on, but decided to go along with Shizuka.

Giving a viscous grin to Gin as he fully entered the room, he said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I was surprised to find someone else in here, so I didn't quite catch what you guy's were saying. Care to fill me in?"

Chuckling, the older boy dropped the papers on the desk and walked by Naruto, saying, "I was just leaving, actually," as he headed for the door, only to be stopped by Shizuka.

"Actually, you'll be staying here and filling out some forms regarding the new members joining the Newspaper Club."

"Huh, why?"

"Because you're the president of the club, of course."

"Yeah, but you're the supervisor," Gin said, turning to face Shizuka, clearly not thrilled by the prospect of having to do paperwork. The woman never let her smile drop, however, as the boy continued. "That's your job, isn't it?"

"Oh my, and wasn't it your job to man the club booth? And yet I had students coming here to learn more about us. Funny how that works. Besides, me and Naruto-chan have a meeting to attend, but if you want to keep us waiting by arguing, by all means."

"I don't much appreciate tardiness," Naruto said idly, causing Gin to turn and look at him nervously. It was clear with a little more pushing, the boy's will would buckle. Still, he was going to try one final time to weasel his way out of this.

"But this stuff isn't due until tomorrow. We still might receive more applications."

It was a fair argument, but Shizuka, feeling vindictive, wasn't going to have any of it as she delivered the final blow with a single word. "Now."

At the command, Gin bowed his head and simply said, "Yes ma'am," as he moved to sit at one of the desks in the room, picking up both the original sheaf of papers and an additional batch and proceeded to fill them out.

Pleased with the sight, Shizuka the turned to Naruto and asked, "Shall we get going?" to which he simply nodded, exiting the room with Shizuka in tow, the woman closing the door behind them. As soon as they were out of sight, Shizuka grabbed Naruto's arm, taking the boy by surprise, and leaned her head against his shoulder as she started walking.

The blond still didn't know what was going on and found himself unconsciously following the woman. Looking around, he made sure no one could see them. It would only take a single student to start a rumor if they saw them in this compromising position. Sensing something was wrong, Shizuka cocked her head up to look at him.

"What is it?"

"N-nothing," Naruto stammered out as he turned back to look at Shizuka, "it's just that I thought you didn't want your students to know about us yet. But doing something like this in such a place..."

Naruto trailed off and the woman looked confused for a moment before laughing, "Don't worry, no one will be awake at this time, so we're safe to do something like this."

In his mind, Naruto thought differently. Both Mizore and Gin were up and about, so why wouldn't anyone else. Worst case scenario would probably be one of them seeing this. Then again, Mizore was outside running, and since they wouldn't be leaving the building there wasn't really any risk of her catching them. Gin was still in Shizuka's room, so he was also out, but the possibility still wasn't zero that they would be caught.

Thinking more about it, why was Gin even up at this time? He clearly wasn't expecting to do Shizuka's busy work, and the woman appeared to have it planned out beforehand, but it still didn't seem like she had tricked him into being there. It was strange.

Before he had a chance to ask, Shizuka brought up another issue of her own interest. "So, did you talk to Shirayuki-chan?"

The question came out of nowhere, ad for a second the boy didn't know what the woman latched to his arm was talking about, he only knew that he didn't like talking about either Shizuka or Mizore in the presence of the other. However, before he could make a mistake, he remembered the previous day.

"Oh, right. It seems like she understands the situation and has agreed to come to class. Apparently you already met her?"

The question was asked tentatively, but Shizuka didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, she seems like a nice girl who found a good group of friends, though she seems a bit shy. Tell me, she seemed to want more time to think about joining the Newspaper Club even though the others decided to join right away, so do you think she's having second thoughts?"

Naruto sighed at that as he knew the answer, and saw fit to inform his friend. "Unfortunately, it seems like she's thinking about joining the Karate Club. Sorry."

"Oh," Shizuka responded with a frown, a bit out off, "that's a shame."

Seeing the woman look so sad, Naruto tried to cheer her up, putting a smile on his face. "Ah, don't worry about it too much. I doubt she had any problem with the club, it's just that something else caught her interest. That girl is...-!"

Naruto suddenly cut himself off. Something felt off to him. His skin was tingling and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. In his heightened state of awareness, he could here faint footsteps in the distance behind them. Closing his eyes, the blond focused, and sure enough he could sense a presence that wasn't Shizuka around the corned they had just passed. He didn't know who, but it seemed like someone was following them.

"Hm, what did you say?" asked the voice beside him, causing the blond to look back to Shizuka, who didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Putting on a smile, he knew that they couldn't be seen like this, and, more importantly, he should find out who was following them and what they wanted, so he invented an excuse, not wanting to scare his friend by telling her the truth.

"Ah, I think I may have dropped something back in your room. Do you think you can go on without me so I can go get it?"

"But the meeting will start soon," Shizuka argued, releasing the blond regardless. "What could you have left behind that it can't wait until later?"

"It's not important per se," Naruto replied nervously, causing the woman to frown, "But I just want to make check if it's there or not, before someone absconds with it."

Shizuka eyed him for a few seconds, and he thought that she was going to insist he just go to the meeting. Meanwhile, it seemed that the presence hadn't realized they had stopped yet. He only had a few more moments. The woman yielded, however, offering a sigh as she said, "Okay, but don't be late for the meeting. And don't bother Ginei-kun too much."

"Of course," the blond replied with a bright smile as he turned back, rounding the corner and leaving the woman's line of sight. It was there he encountered his tail, who was clearly surprised to see him. However, Naruto was also surprised to find this was the person following them, and found himself asking, "You?!" in surprise.

Standing before him was Gin, who's nervousness was quickly masked by an easy-going smile as he waved to the teacher. "Hey," he said casually. The blond wasn't having any of it, though.

"Why were you following us?"

Gin feigned surprise and acted ignorant. Only serving to piss Naruto off more. "Follow you? Why would someone do anything like that?"

Unlike other times when they had encountered one another, the black-haired boy was doing a remarkably good job at retaining his composure. Intimidation wasn't going to work as well here, and Naruto had to be mindful about how long he spent trying to get information out of Gin.

"Why aren't you back in Shizuka-chan's classroom?" he suddenly asked. Gin laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

"Well, you know, that place is cramped. I needed to stretch my legs."

Never mind that they had just left the room, it was clear Gin was lying and had no intention of doing the work assigned to him. The longer this conversation went on, the more Naruto wondered if he wasn't just being paranoid and if Gin wasn't just being lazy. No, he was being to calm for that. The boy was planning something, and this was proved when he asked a question that caused Naruto to narrow his eyes dangerously.

"Say, what would you say your relationship is with Nekonome-sensei, anyway?"

"We're friends," Naruto stated simply, though he was a bit worried. Had he seen them? It would be bad if he did, especially given his station. As president on the Newspaper Club, he may tell Tsukune or one of the others, and, as they had seen Mizore kiss him the day before, it would lead to more than a small complication. Then again, the boy had no real proof even if he had seen them, and, given that the others didn't know him, they had no reason to believe him. Hell, he didn't know the others either, so it didn't make sense that he would just tell them anyway, it was more of something that may be said in passing, and regarded as just a rumor. Why was he worrying?

As Naruto thought that, Gin spoke again. "Really, 'cause the way she was hanging off of you really didn't look like you two just being 'friendly'."

All signs of amusement left Gin's face as he stared at Naruto. This was becoming serious, and the blond was becoming more defensive, unfortunately. "What concern is it of yours?"

The boy shrugged at that. "You're right. It really is none of my business. Nekonome-sensei is a mature adult and she can date anyone she wants. Same goes for you. I only become involved when I see a dirtbag like you cheating on someone I care about when one of his students."

The accusation hung heavily in the air. As Gin leveled a glare at Naruto, the blond felt everything go numb. Someone knew?! How?! He wanted to throw up, but ignored the heaviness in his chest and stood firm, not letting anything show. "What are you talking about?"

Scoffing, Gin reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled what looked like a slip of paper out, motioning for the blond to take it. Naruto stared at the object curiously, then hesitantly reached out to take it. As he did, Gin explained, "As I was making my way in this morning, I saw something strange. I didn't expect to see anyone else up, but imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a lover's rendezvous."

Taking the slip, Naruto turned it over and nearly dropped it in shock. It was a picture, taken from quite a distance away, but it clearly showed a blond man and a purple-haired girl locked in a kiss. Covering his mouth instinctively, the teacher looked back up at Gin, wide-eyed. Seeing the look, the boy once again shrugged.

"I thought it was interesting seeing a teacher and student doing something like that, thought it might make for a good article if worse came to worse. I snapped a picture and didn't think too much of it. Imagine my surprise when I see the same teacher clearly dating someone else."

"What do you want?" Naruto asked after a few moments, lowering his head in defeat as he tucked the picture into his pocket. It was unlikely Gin had copies, given the amount of time that had transpired between events, but really,it was enough that the boy knew. It was enough that Naruto allowed himself to be talked down to in such a way by a student that clearly had no respect for him, because the blond knew Gin had a right to be mad. He was finally going to receive his punishment. He wasn't going to pay him or anything, but the truth was going to come out.

Scoffing, the boy said, "I don't want anything from you," surprising Naruto a bit. The blond then heard the other sigh. "Don't get me wrong, I hate you, and I'm tempted to go find Nekonome-sensei right now and tell her everything."

"Then why don't you?!" Naruto yelled, getting angry with his attitude. He hated felling helpless, and while he could just start a fight right here to relieve some stress, he knew that wouldn't help anything.

Gin was also mad that the blond didn't seem to understand, yelling, "Because unlike you, I don't want to hurt her!"

That was enough to set Naruto off as he soon found himself with a hand around Gin's neck as he pushed the boy into a wall. "Don't think you know how I feel about this! I do care!"

"Then why are you cheating on her?!" Gin shouted back, causing the blond to loosen his grip. "What, did you make a mistake?!" he boy continued, causing Naruto to back up. "Don't give me that bullshit! If you really cared, you never would have let this happen!"

"It's not like that," Naruto tried to argue, clenching his teeth. Not even he believed that anymore, though. He found himself admitting that everything the boy in front of him said was correct.

"You can tell yourself whatever you want, but the point remains that form some reason Nekonome-sensei actually likes a scumbag like you. No matter what you do, you're going to end up hurting her. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do," Naruto said sadly. Seeing this pitiful sight, Gin also found himself calming down a bit, though still kept a hostile tone.

"At this point, you have two options," the boy said matter-of-factly. "Either you admit you're trash and let her know you're cheating on her, or you can break-up with this other girl. I don't really care so long as you stop simply leading Nekonome-sensei on. You know neither one deserves that. Inaction will force me to tell her myself, and you should know that will just hurt her even more. Make things right."

With that, Gin walked off, Naruto watching the boy's back as he retreated. Looking to the ceiling and sighing, he actually felt a bit absolved of his guilt. Forced into action, he now knew the truth was going to come out, one way or another. That didn't make things easier, though. He had a choice to make, and was now on the clock.

/

Wow, a chapter came out in a timely fashion. That's a bit of a rarity these days. I feel like I'm slipping a bit on the characterization though. As always, if you have any issues, tell me. Now then, as you know, I'm going to take a bit to update the other stories at least once now. Rest assured, I'll come back to this soon enough, but college will have undoubtedly started by then, so we'll have to see how that affects things. You guys are used to that by now, right? Don't forget to fucking vote on which story takes priority this time until then, as the poll is actually up now.

Now then, about last chapter, reviews are generally positive, though as of writing this, more complaints have come in about Naruto's actions and attitude. I'm trying to resolve that in the most natural way possible, but keep in mind that this I'm not accustomed to writing harems. I'm trying to make this a bit more serious, so not everything can be comedy. There needs to exist a juxtaposition. That being said, good times will return for Naruto and the gang. I really don't want this to become too angsty and turn people off, so I'm trying to get through it. If you want me to pace it better, though, I'll be sure to take that into consideration.

That being said, the other major criticism is that people are tired of waiting for Ura to show up. I have one thing to say to that; I want you to consider the fact that, in the manga timeline at least, about only five of six chapters have passed. I know that this story now has twelve chapters, but there is still plenty of time for Ura to show up. As you can imagine, I want to resolve a few things first, and I know how I want to introduce her, so please be patient.

Finally, the whole Kyuubi issue. I know I've answered this question before, but I don't remember what I said. Whatever it was, it was far from eloquent, apparently, as the point clearly didn't get across. As with Ura, it will play a part later. I don't want to say more for fear of revealing what I have planned for the future, just know that I've got you covered, and I don't want to hear anymore about it, please.

And with that, I'll happily end the chapter. Thank you for sticking around all this time as my four year anniversary comes up. I'd like to think I've come a long way since my first story, even if there had been a lot of down time. Anyway, keep an eye out for future updates. This chapter has been 12,093 words long!


End file.
